The AEMC today made a final rule that exempts the Northern Territory’s LNG projects from reporting gas flows that are upstream of their connection with the domestic gas market on the Natural Gas Bulletin Board. 

The final rule will assist the Northern Territory  government in maintaining a secure source of back-up gas supply by addressing concerns that, due to confidentiality requirements, the Northern Territory LNG projects may not continue to provide back-up gas supply if they are required to report their upstream activities on the Bulletin Board.

The final rule provides the NT LNG projects, Darwin LNG and Ichthys LNG, with an exemption from reporting requirements on the Bulletin Board for the facilities that are upstream of the connection point with the domestic market. All flows into the domestic market via the connecting Wickham Point pipeline will still be reported on the Bulletin Board. 

The exemption is provided under circumstances in which gas flow into the domestic market occurs for the purposes of emergency back-up supply or testing of emergency gas flow facilities only. 

The buyer of emergency back-up supply, Power and Water Corporation, is required under the final rule to provide the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) with written notice of the reasons for emergency back-up supply on each day supply is required. The AER has the discretion to remove the exemption and require the NT LNG facilities upstream of the domestic market to report on the Bulletin Board, if gas flows from those facilities to the NT domestic market are not for a gas supply outage or emergency gas supply test.

The final rule commences on 15 August 2019.

Media: Prudence Anderson, Communications Director, 0404 821 935 or (02) 8296 7817