Australia is expected to witness the start of 118 oil and gas projects’ operations from 2021 to 2025, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

The analytics firm said that this number accounts for 6 per cent of the total project starts in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Of these, new-build projects lead the upcoming projects count constituting around 74 per cent of the total starts across the value chain.

In GlobalData’s report, ‘Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Projects Outlook to 2025 – Development Stage, Capacity, Capex and Contractor Details of All Newbuild and Expansion Projects’, the company reveals that of the 118 projects during the outlook period, upstream projects would be 53, midstream projects would be the highest with 56 projects, and petrochemicals at nine.

Teja Pappoppula, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said: “Australia is heavily focusing on natural gas production, transportation, and export projects to reinforce its position as one of the leading global exporters of LNG. The investments also help the country to meet the growing gas demand in the country”.

In the upstream segment, GlobalData expects 53 projects to start operations in Australia from 2021 to 2025. Natural gas projects dominate the upcoming projects count accounting for about 55 per cent of the total projects. Some of the notable projects include Barossa, a shallow water conventional gas field, presently in the construction stage and is expected to start operations by 2025.

At the end of March, Santos awarded a contract worth about $4.6 billion for the construction, connection, and operation of an FPSO for the Barossa field to BW Offshore. Only days after, Santos took a final investment decision to proceed with the $3.6-billion Barossa project.

Midstream projects constitute around 47 per cent of all oil and gas projects in Australia by 2025. Pipeline projects constitute the bulk of the upcoming midstream projects with the Amadeus Basin–Moomba gas pipeline being one of the key projects with a length of 950 kilometres. The project is presently in the FEED stage and is expected to start operations by 2024.

Among the upcoming petrochemical projects in Australia by 2025, Leigh Creek Energy Leigh Creek Urea Plant and Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers Karratha Urea Plant are the key petrochemical projects during this period, each with a capacity of 2.00 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Both have been approved and is expected to start operations by 2024.