The Moomba to Sydney Pipeline (MSP) is a transmission pipeline that operates across NSW. The pipeline is owned and operated by the APA Group.
The pipeline is 2081 km in length and has a forward haul capacity of 489 TJ/day and a back haul capacity of 120 TJ/day. The pipeline links the Cooper basin gas fields at Moomba in South Australia to gas distribution systems in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra and some NSW regional centres.
Since 2008, with the completion of the QSN Link which connects to the MSP at Moomba and the change in flow direction on the South West Queensland Pipeline (SWQP), gas can also be sourced from conventional and coal seam gas fields in the Bowen-Surat basin in Queensland. In December 2015, the MSP became bi-directional. A new receipt point at Wilton connected to Jemena Eastern Gas Pipeline and the provided the ability to flow gas north to Moomba.
The MSP is subject to two different forms of regulation:
- The Moomba-Marsden segment of the mainline and the Wagga Wagga- Culcairn lateral are non-scheme pipelines and subject to the access regime for non-scheme pipelines under Chapter 6A of the NGL and Part 23 of the NGR.
- The Marsden-Wilton segment and the other laterals (Dalton-Canberra, Young-Lithgow-Bathurst, Young-Wagga Wagga, and Burnt Creek-Griffith) are classified as covered and subject to light regulation under the AER.
Background
The pipeline was initially subject to regulation by the ACCC as a covered pipeline under the Gas Code. It has been the subject of two coverage revocation processes and a light regulation determination.
First, in 2000 the service provider was unsuccessful in seeking revocation of coverage for most parts of the pipeline. The NCC, and then subsequently the Minister, rejected the application.
Revocation for certain parts of the MSP were subsequently sought by the service provider. In 2002 the NCC again recommended against revocation. However, the Minister’s decision was to revoke coverage of the Moomba-Marsden segment of the mainline. The remainder of the MSP was to continue to be a covered pipeline subject to full regulation with the exception of Young-Culcairn (part the Interconnect) which had not been covered.
In 2008, the NCC determined to change the form of regulation applied to the covered part of the MSP from full regulation to light regulation.
The MSP was constructed in 1976 to service the NSW gas market. It comprises a mainline from the Moomba processing plant to Wilton near Sydney and four lateral pipelines (Young to Orange and Lithgow, Young to Wagga Wagga, Junee to Griffith and Dalton to Canberra). With the completion of the NSW-Victoria Interconnect between Wagga Wagga and Culcairn in 1998, gas can be transported bi-directionally between NSW and the Victorian Transmission System. The capacity between NSW and the Victorian Transmission System has been progressively expanded between 2014 and 2017 to transport additional gas between NSW and Victoria. The MSP is also interconnected with the Central West Pipeline (CWP).