Energised: Viva finds partners for Geelong refinery projects

GEELONG is being touted as the best place in Australia’s south-east to build a new liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal, with Viva Energy continuing with its plan to transform its refinery in the city into the Geelong Energy Hub.

As well as the gas terminal project, which would supply a new source of gas for the Victorian and Australian market in response to projected gas shortages, the hub would include a solar energy and battery farm, strategic gas supply and storage, and support the development of new energy technologies such as hydrogen.

Viva Energy has selected and entered into memorandums of understanding with two partners about the development of the gas terminal project and its related capacity.

The partners – the consortia of ENGIE Australia & New Zealand and Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and Vitol and VTTI, respectively – will work with Viva Energy on the upcoming design and development phase of the gas terminal, which will see LNG transported to Corio Bay by sea and transferred to a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) permanently docked at the refinery.

“The support of these partners further demonstrates the strong credentials of Geelong as the preferred location for a LNG terminal in south-eastern Australia,” Viva Energy’s update to the Australian Stock Exchange stated late last year.

“The Geelong site is strategically located within Australia’s largest gas market, has the benefit of an industrial facility and port infrastructure, and provides close integration into the nearby energy infrastructure, including Victoria’s gas transmission network.”

Viva Energy has started the tender process for the FSRU as well as the the technical design phase of the gas terminal project.

The company predicts a final investment decision could be made by mid-2022, with gas supply in 2024.

Viva Energy chief executive officer Scott Wyatt said the experience and capability of its partners in LNG terminals and gas markets would assist the company in continuing to fast-track the project through to a final investment decision.

“The project will bring new gas supply and competition to our domestic gas markets and is an important part of our wider vision to further develop Geelong as an Energy Hub for Victoria, and to support the transition of Victoria to lower carbon energies,” Mr Wyatt said.

“We believe that natural gas will continue to play an important role in providing energy and thereby supporting the further development of lower carbon, but intermittent renewable energy generation.
“Our Geelong site is uniquely placed to deliver on this project, and we are very excited about this opportunity to play a role in the energy transition.”

ENGIE Australia & New Zealand chief executive officer Augustin Honorat said partnerships were an important part of accelerating the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

“This project has the potential to leverage ENGIE’s and Mitsui’s global experience to help develop the Geelong Energy Hub and provide residential and business customers with cleaner and more affordable energy supplied via efficient infrastructure,” Mr Honorat said.