APA Group has made a final investment decision (FID) to build the interstate Bulloo Interlink Pipeline (BIL) project in Australia, committing A$700m ($492m) to its construction and commissioning.
The decision is supported by a five-year gas transportation and storage agreement with Origin Energy covering APA’s east coast gas grid.
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The planned pipeline will connect APA’s South West Queensland Pipeline in Queensland with the Moomba-Sydney Pipeline in New South Wales.
It is designed as an underground, high-pressure natural gas transmission line with a maximum capacity of 800TJ/day.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2027, subject to approvals, with commercial operations targeted for 2029. APA expects revenue from the asset to build over about five years after commissioning.
Origin’s take-or-pay agreement is inflation-linked and is due to begin on 1 January 2028, when its existing arrangements end.
APA said its A$700m commitment follows a February 2026 decision to spend A$220m on early work. Procurement of line pipe, engineering, approvals and development work are already under way.
The pipeline forms part of APA’s Stage 3 expansion programme for its east coast gas grid. APA has said the programme will add 30% to its north-to-south transportation capacity on completion.
The group expects capacity across the network to have risen by more than 50% since 2023 after Stage 3 is completed.
APA CEO and managing director Adam Watson said: “Delivery of the BIL is critical to east coast energy security, unlocking the significant volumes of gas available in Queensland and the Northern Territory and complementing our earlier ECGG investments.
“The BIL is designed to ensure pipeline capacity is not a constraint to meet projected gas demand for Australia’s southern states later this decade and into the early 2030s. AEMO’s 2026 Gas Statement of Opportunities was clear that unlocking northern gas supply and expanding existing pipelines will push out projected shortfalls in southern markets into the 2030s.
“Beyond the BIL, APA can deliver further capacity increases, incrementally, to ensure east coast gas demand continues to be met by APA’s pipeline and storage infrastructure.”
APA said the expansion will not alter its standard inflation-linked tariffs on key transport routes. It also expects the project to lower longer-term stay-in-business capital expenditure requirements for the Moomba-Sydney Pipeline.
Stage 3A remains on schedule for 2028, with site work under way and procurement and contractor arrangements progressing.
