Arrow Bowen Pipeline

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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The Arrow Bowen Pipeline, also referred to as Moranbah to Gladstone Gas Pipeline, is a shelved natural gas pipeline.

Location

The pipeline would run from the proposed Bowen Gas Project in the Bowen Basin, Queensland to Gladstone, Queensland. The pipeline's planned route appears in Arrow documents.

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Project Details

• Operator: Arrow Energy
• Owner: Arrow Energy (100%)
• Parent Company: Royal Dutch Shell (50%), PetroChina (50%)
• Capacity: 1500 terajoules per day
• Length: 475 kilometers
• Diameter: 42 in
• Status: Shelved
• Start Year: 2028
• Cost: A$1,207 million

Background

The pipeline would be operated and owned by Arrow Energy, which is jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina. Arrow Energy's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the pipeline was approved by the Queensland Government in March 2013 and received Federal approval in October 2014.

The pipeline would carry coal seam gas from the proposed Bowen Gas Project in the Bowen Basin. In April 2017, Arrow Energy was granted a license to build the pipeline by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines. However, Arrow Energy has not yet decided to proceed with construction because of delays in developing the Bowen Basin coal seam gas project.

As of July 2020, there had been no progress on the pipeline in more than two years, and it appeared to be shelved. However, the 2021 Australian National Gas Infrastructure Plan mentioned this pipeline as one of three potential options to expand gas in the Bowen Basin, so it was still considered proposed. Arrow Bowen Pipeline, Blue Energy Bowen Gas Pipeline, and Galilee to Moranbah Gas Pipeline are three candidate routes for delivering natural gas from the North Bowen Basin if it is further developed. While there were no requirements on potential ownership of these routes, the NGIP mentions the need for such infrastructure to be in place by 2028 to avoid gas shortfalls.

However, as of 2023, there have been no significant advances related to the Arrow Bowen pipeline and it's considered to be shelved. The final version of the Bowen Basin Concept Study, published in 2021, states that "no construction has commenced [on the Arrow Bowen pipeline project], and the project appears to be on hold". In late 2022, an InQueensland article cites Blue Energy's chief executive saying that "the big issue holding back the development [of the Bowen Basin pipeline project] was Arrow’s refusal to build it", and that Arrow Energy doesn't need the gas until "later this decade" and has "so far refused to build it despite holding the license and clearances to do so".