Supplementing WA’s natural gas supply

OVERVIEW

The commercial opportunities for Frontier to sell green hydrogen gas include:

• Blending green hydrogen with natural gas used for domestic gas consumption;
• Selling green hydrogen to an LNG exporter with a domestic gas obligation in WA, to enable the LNG exporter to supplement its domestic gas supply with green hydrogen and thereby satisfying its domestic gas obligation; and enabling the producer to export an equivalent amount of higher priced LNG; and
• Selling green hydrogen to a nearby industrial user located downstream from the Project, for use in its industrial processes as a partial replacement of natural gas or as feedstock.

The DBNGP, Western Australia’s most significant gas transmission asset, is in close proximity to the Bristol Springs Project, with an access point located only ~0.3km from the proposed hydrogen plant, in a section of the pipeline ready for injection.

Injecting green hydrogen into the DBNGP would support the WA Government’s goal of up to 10% hydrogen in the pipelines by 2030 and also increase the aggregate quantity of energy available to the WA domestic market.

For any potential offtake partner, greater understanding on the timing and structure of the Hydrogen Headstart funding is required. EOIs for Hydrogen Headstart funding are expected to open in late 2023 / early 2024, and Frontier has already submitted a consultation paper [link here]. Once the Hydrogen Headstart support is understood, the Company and a potential offtake partner can further refine potential terms, most notably around pricing.

See further detail on Hydrogen Headstart here

Prior to the potential injection of hydrogen into the DBNGP, amending petroleum legislation to support hydrogen, as well as any approvals to substitute hydrogen as a domestic gas offset, are required. The WA Government is well advanced with this process.