Project Profile
Value: Undisclosed
Location: Bowen Basin, Australia
Capacity: 44 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas
AGL plans to develop an Underground Gas Storage (UGS) facility at the Silver Springs/Renlim gas field. The Silver Springs/Renlim gas reservoir is an ideal underground gas storage location. The gas field produced gas from 1978 to 1999 for the Brisbane market. The gas production finished in 2000 and the reservoir is now fully depleted. The depleted gas reservoir is made up of highly porous sandstone capped by an impermeable layer of shale and surrounded by gas-water contacts. By reusing the depleted Silver Springs/Renlim underground gas reservoir, the company will be able to store gas underground for QGC–a BG Group business supporting the development of its Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Gladstone. The underground gas storage facility will require the installation of a new compressor at the Silver Springs Plant as well as new pipelines and wellhead equipment. At least one new well will be drilled into the Silver Springs reservoir, in addition to “working over” existing wells so they can be evaluated and modified to operate in storage mode. The project will also require a connection between the APA-owned Berwyndale to Wallumbilla Pipeline (BWP) and the Silver Springs Pipeline (SSP) to allow gas to flow from the Wallumbilla gas hub to the Silver Springs Plant using an existing gas pipeline. Silver Springs can store up to 44 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas.
The Silver Springs underground gas storage facility is located in the Bowen Basin. The Silver Springs/Renlim underground gas reservoir is located approximately 500m below the deepest known aquifer bearing sandstones in the Great Artesian Basin. The reservoir is overlain by a thick layer of impermeable cap rock which has acted as a gas-tight seal for millions of years. All gas wells drilled into these fields have been isolated from aquifers with cement and steel casing preventing any connectivity between the gas reservoir and the Great Artesian Basin.
Operators:
AGL Energy Limited (AGL): Operator with 100% interest