June 21 (LNGJ) - APA Group, the Australian energy infrastructure company, has agreed to sell the Orbost Gas Processing Plant in the southern Australian state of Victoria to Cooper Energy in a deal worth up to A$330 million (US$230M) via four instalments. The deal comes amid rising Australian natural gas prices. The spot gas price in Victoria, including the city of Melbourne, has risen from the equivalent of around US$7.00 per million British thermal units in March 2022 to about US$26.25 per MMBtu in June.
The Orbost plant is close to Cooper Energy’s offshore Gippsland Basin assets and connections into the Southeast Australian gas market and the Eastern Gas Pipeline. “Cooper Energy’s acquisition of the Orbost Gas Processing Plant is transformative for the company,” said Managing Director David Maxwell. “The acquisition represents the next step in Cooper Energy’s twin gas supply hub position and is underpinned by attractive market dynamics in the tightening Southeast Australia gas supply,” he added.
