December 23, 2022 [Reuters] – Dutch oil storage company Vopak on Tuesday said it has submitted an environmental plan to the Australian state of Victoria for an LNG import terminal it aims to complete in 2026 to help fill an expected gas shortfall in the country’s southeastern region.

Vopak VOPA.AS, which first flagged plans for a liquefied natural gas import terminal in March 2021, is vying against four other planned gas import terminals, including one under construction in the neighbouring state of New South Wales.

All of them see an opportunity to import LNG to Australia’s southeastern region, where the main source of gas is drying up, as there is not enough pipeline capacity to deliver gas from the country’s abundant sources in the north.

Adding to the urgency, rival projects have said the national government’s recent move to cap gas prices could deter development of local gas supply and boost the need for imports.

“The Victoria Energy Terminal project offers a low-impact solution to the predicted shortfalls in the supply of natural gas to the state as we transition towards our renewable energy future,” Vopak’s Victoria Energy Terminal Managing Director Rolf Brouwer said in a statement.

Vopak has proposed parking a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) vessel 19 kilometres (12 miles) offshore in Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne.

Its main rival project in Victoria, an LNG terminal proposed by Viva Energy VEA.AX, completed hearings on its environmental plan in August and is awaiting a decision from the state government.

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