Strait gas study

Press, 14 June 1978, Page 2

Strait gas study

PA Wellington The Gas Association has commissioned a study on the cost of piping natural gas to the South Island to test a Government assertion that building a pipeline would be a wasteful exercise. It has approved $14,000 for the project, which will be run through the association’s energy research and development committee. The association’s secretary (Mr R. G. Cathie) said yesterday that a “proper” study on the feasibility of a South Island pipeline had never been made. However, a paper had been written on the topic several years ago for an association conference.

In March this year, the Minister of Energy Resources (Mr Gain) said that piping Maui gas to the South Island would be wasteful. The Government had calculated that after all the costs were paid and revenue collected over the life of the field, the nation stood to lose about SIOOM in 1977 values. But Mr Cathie said he hoped that an independent study would come up with facts or factors the Government might have overlooked. “It has been proven throughout the world that the best way to transfer gas is by pipeline,” he said. Mr Cathie termed the project a “feasibility” study. “We want to know whether it is sensible to go ahead with a much bigger study on the viability of a pipeline,” he said.