By Digifin Pty Ltd · About this coverage
Key Points
- Final investment decision commits $700 million to the Bulloo Interlink Pipeline
- Five-year take-or-pay agreement with Origin Energy from 1 January 2028
- Pipeline to have 800 TJ/day maximum capacity
- Targeted commercial operation in winter 2029
- Construction to commence in early 2027, subject to approvals
About APA (ASX:APA)
APA Group is an ASX-listed owner and operator of energy infrastructure, headquartered in Sydney. Its network of natural gas transmission pipelines connects producing basins to population and industrial centres around Australia, and it also runs a generation fleet spanning gas-fired plant, wind, solar and battery storage, together with electricity interconnectors. APA is a stapled group comprising APA Infrastructure Trust and APA Investment Trust, and its securities trade on the ASX under the code APA.
APA (ASX:APA) has taken a final investment decision on the Bulloo Interlink Pipeline (BIL), backed by a new five-year agreement with Origin Energy, to address projected north-to-south gas transport constraints on the east coast.
The decision commits $700 million for construction and commissioning, in addition to the $220 million APA approved in February 2026 for early works. The BIL is an underground, high-pressure pipeline with an 800 TJ/day maximum capacity linking the South West Queensland Pipeline to the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline, and forms Stage 3B of APA's East Coast Gas Grid (ECGG) Expansion Plan. APA says Stage 3 will deliver ~30% more north-to-south capacity when completed. The Origin agreement is a five-year, take-or-pay, inflation-linked gas transportation and storage agreement, with services commencing on 1 January 2028 at the end of Origin's existing arrangements, and includes contracted capacity on the BIL when commissioned. The investment will be funded from existing balance sheet capacity and is expected to deliver returns above APA's hurdle rates. Targeted commercial operation is winter 2029, with revenues expected to ramp up over a ~5-year period after commissioning. Stage 3A remains on track for winter 2028.
Construction is due to commence in early 2027, subject to relevant approvals, and environmental approvals are still being advanced. The release does not state the value of the Origin agreement or the expected return.
Source: APA Group (ASX:APA), 22 October 2026. Summary content supplied by Digifin Pty Ltd.
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