The construction of the 580 kilometers pipeline in Western Australia has started. The $460 million worth of pipeline will transport natural gas from the Perth basin to resources projects in the state’s Goldfield.

The Northern Goldfield Interconnect will be part of the 2,690-km gas pipeline network in Western Australia and significantly increase the volume of gas transported inland.

APA Group has begun the pipeline’s construction about 50 km east of Geraldton, at Bunbury and Dampier pipeline intersection, with the infrastructure company planning to hire 600 workers to build the 30-centimeter pipeline west to the Goldfield gas pipeline south of Leinster in the coming months.

The project failed to kick off as was previously planned due to government approvals, though Gerard Coggan, APA general manager of infrastructure, hoped the project would be completed in March.

“It is a logistically challenging project, but it is something that APA and our principal contractor have done before. We’ve spent a couple of years planning this project, so we are looking forward to executing the project and delivering gas to the Goldfield region,” Coggan said.

Gas to Accelerate Economic Development and Energy Decarbonisation

According to Coggan, the gas would accelerate economic growth in the eastern Goldfield region and promote other new projects. According to Coggan, the projects will create additional jobs in the region, and the WA government has been supporting the project.

Following many conversations that APA has had with potential customers about reducing carbon emissions, the company sees gas as playing an important role in decarbonizing energy.

The APA general manager of infrastructure confirmed that the company had entered into collaborative agreements with traditional owner groups along the pipeline to support businesses and create employment opportunities.

During the construction of the pipelines, the Yalgoo-Mount Magnet road was closed for 15-minute intervals once per day from May 30 to June 6.