setback for gas pipeline, page-5

I agree that the recent share trading in OSH has little to do with the proposed pipeline.

For those wondering what the Santos developement has to do with the PNG pipeline, read the accompanying news article.
Note what Beattie (a supposed proponent of the pipeline) has to say.




Courier Mail
Edition 1 - First with the newsTUE 17 JUN 2003, Page 025

Santos Seeks To Share Timor Gas Costs.
By Karen Michelmore, Sean Parnell.


SANTOS said yesterday it had spoken to other players involved in the Timor Sea, including Woodside Petroleum, about sharing offshore infrastructure for gas developments.
Santos, which yesterday received a boost with news its joint venture $2.3 billion Bayu-Undan project had cleared its final hurdle, said working together would save on development costs and make marginal fields more economically viable.

Further, a single pipeline to the large gas fields in the northern Timor Sea would promote further liquefied natural gas sales to eastern Australia.

"The area of great opportunity in the Timor Sea is to optimise offshore infrastructure to promote growth both in the production and downstream industries,'' Santos northern business unit general manager Rod Rayner told the South-East Asia Australia Offshore Conference in Darwin.
"Rather than have single interests develop single infrastructure from single fields to a single market, Santos believes the solution is in common infrastructure.''

He later said common infrastructure would benefit the company's Petrel Tern fields, but could also link other fields such as the massive Sunrise field.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the State Government would negotiate for a pipeline extending into Queensland.
"We are a big market for them,'' Mr Beattie said. "They will have an interest in Queensland and the market will determine that.''
Mr Beattie said the Timor Sea pipeline did not sound the deathknell for the PNG gas pipeline as the Government would always look for alternative gas sources and had boosted its supply of coal seam methane gas.
But the PNG gas pipeline would have its difficulties and it might be years before the market determined whether it should proceed, he said.