APA Group has announced the progression of Stage 3 of its East Coast Gas Grid (ECGG) Expansion Plan, which will add approximately 30 per cent additional transport capacity and address projected southern market gas shortfalls from 2028.

Stage 3 includes final investment decision (FID) on Stage 3A (ECGG 3A), with investment of $260 million to increase north to south capacity. It also includes a $220 million investment for Stage 3B (ECGG 3B) to enable continued early works and procurement of long lead items for the Bulloo Interlink, including purchase of 342km of line pipe and further pre-FID works to deliver additional capacity beyond winter 2028.

Modelling undertaken by APA provides confidence that domestic gas delivered from northern supply markets can be delivered into southern markets at a cost, inclusive of transport, materially below the cost of imported LNG.

“These capacity expansion investments by APA, along with future planned expansions, make it crystal clear that pipeline capacity will not be a constraint to solving projected east coast gas supply shortfalls,” APA CEO and Managing Director Adam Watson said.

“It’s now critical that the Federal Government implements a well-designed gas reservation policy that supports upstream investment and ensures adequate volumes are supplied into the east coast.

“There is no question that between Queensland and the Northern Territory there is enough gas in the ground to support both the domestic market and Asian LNG customers for decades to come.

“The notion that Australia, as one of the three largest LNG exporters in the world, would need to resort to importing LNG when lower cost, lower emissions domestic gas is readily available, simply doesn’t make sense and would represent a massive failure of government policy.

“Incremental investment in existing pipeline infrastructure is a logical, proven and timely solution to meet domestic gas needs. AEMO’s 2025 Gas Statement of Opportunities clearly states that expansion of existing pipelines, along with unlocking northern supply, would meet forecast gas needs well out into the 2030s without an LNG import terminal.

“APA is addressing southern gas market transport bottlenecks and there’s plenty of domestic gas in the ground. The last piece is the introduction of the domestic gas reservation so Australia’s domestic gas market can get back to what it does best – powering Australian homes and driving Australian industry.”

When Stage 3 is completed, APA will have added more than 50% capacity to the East Coast Gas Grid over the past 5 years, having already increased capacity by approximately 25% via Stages 1 and 2.