Bayu-Undan to Darwin Pipeline

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

Sub-articles:

FrackSwarm portal Coal terminals Coal transport and infrastructure Oil and gas pipelines LNG terminals Pipeline construction costs Methodology and data notes

The Bayu-Undan to Darwin Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline.

Location

The pipeline runs from the Joint Petroleum Development Area in the Timor Sea between Australia and Timor-Leste to the Darwin LNG Terminal facility in Darwin, Northern Territory.

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"400px","height":"300px","centre":{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":-11.6304203,"lon":128.7400294,"icon":""},"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","strokeColor":"#FF0000","strokeOpacity":"1","strokeWeight":"2","pos":[{"lat":-12.525291,"lon":130.86349},{"lat":-12.529756,"lon":130.849036},{"lat":-12.530574,"lon":130.845701},{"lat":-12.530722,"lon":130.842256},{"lat":-12.529834,"lon":130.838543},{"lat":-12.528957,"lon":130.836649},{"lat":-12.527377,"lon":130.834444},{"lat":-12.526126,"lon":130.83314},{"lat":-12.522892,"lon":130.831031},{"lat":-12.515992,"lon":130.827487},{"lat":-12.499293,"lon":130.818812},{"lat":-12.484953,"lon":130.813235},{"lat":-12.471604,"lon":130.807007},{"lat":-12.466024,"lon":130.803773},{"lat":-12.460531,"lon":130.79956},{"lat":-12.397396,"lon":130.748761},{"lat":-12.395341,"lon":130.746679},{"lat":-12.392305,"lon":130.74308},{"lat":-12.31359,"lon":130.643653},{"lat":-12.311557,"lon":130.640997},{"lat":-12.309888,"lon":130.637769},{"lat":-12.122128,"lon":130.095954},{"lat":-12.070017,"lon":129.946304},{"lat":-12.068707,"lon":129.943619},{"lat":-12.067057,"lon":129.940948},{"lat":-12.065128,"lon":129.938522},{"lat":-12.062933,"lon":129.936325},{"lat":-12.022788,"lon":129.905899},{"lat":-12.019765,"lon":129.903259},{"lat":-12.016944,"lon":129.900177},{"lat":-12.015307,"lon":129.898026},{"lat":-12.013942,"lon":129.895935},{"lat":-12.011842,"lon":129.891937},{"lat":-12.010188,"lon":129.887589},{"lat":-12.009541,"lon":129.885162},{"lat":-12.009006,"lon":129.882355},{"lat":-12.008725,"lon":129.879547},{"lat":-12.008605,"lon":129.876038},{"lat":-12.011423,"lon":129.710403},{"lat":-12.011328,"lon":129.707108},{"lat":-12.011013,"lon":129.703873},{"lat":-12.009879,"lon":129.698105},{"lat":-12.000837,"lon":129.670898},{"lat":-11.99778,"lon":129.662643},{"lat":-11.995899,"lon":129.658447},{"lat":-11.994162,"lon":129.655167},{"lat":-11.987302,"lon":129.643906},{"lat":-11.98593,"lon":129.641068},{"lat":-11.984661,"lon":129.637634},{"lat":-11.983716,"lon":129.634155},{"lat":-11.981519,"lon":129.620651},{"lat":-11.980008,"lon":129.614029},{"lat":-11.978511,"lon":129.609222},{"lat":-11.966929,"lon":129.574768},{"lat":-11.96601,"lon":129.571381},{"lat":-11.964163,"lon":129.562668},{"lat":-11.963094,"lon":129.558975},{"lat":-11.83347,"lon":129.175507},{"lat":-11.739382,"lon":128.898575},{"lat":-11.738261,"lon":128.895645},{"lat":-11.736905,"lon":128.892639},{"lat":-11.734166,"lon":128.887665},{"lat":-11.731678,"lon":128.884018},{"lat":-11.724128,"lon":128.874176},{"lat":-11.722209,"lon":128.87117},{"lat":-11.720171,"lon":128.86702},{"lat":-11.718756,"lon":128.862961},{"lat":-11.718048,"lon":128.860046},{"lat":-11.708118,"lon":128.808243},{"lat":-11.705945,"lon":128.797653},{"lat":-11.641601,"lon":128.495651},{"lat":-11.639199,"lon":128.484589},{"lat":-11.637306,"lon":128.477127},{"lat":-11.635091,"lon":128.470093},{"lat":-11.620267,"lon":128.429321},{"lat":-11.618977,"lon":128.426575},{"lat":-11.610832,"lon":128.411774},{"lat":-11.603048,"lon":128.39064},{"lat":-11.600668,"lon":128.383301},{"lat":-11.592284,"lon":128.360092},{"lat":-11.587368,"lon":128.339325},{"lat":-11.586573,"lon":128.336594},{"lat":-11.508513,"lon":128.122299},{"lat":-11.506198,"lon":128.115463},{"lat":-11.504116,"lon":128.108093},{"lat":-11.502876,"lon":128.102814},{"lat":-11.501402,"lon":128.094818},{"lat":-11.472701,"lon":127.920288},{"lat":-11.471648,"lon":127.915848},{"lat":-11.469927,"lon":127.910728},{"lat":-11.461492,"lon":127.891769},{"lat":-11.460372,"lon":127.888145},{"lat":-11.459616,"lon":127.884468},{"lat":-11.459259,"lon":127.881294},{"lat":-11.459214,"lon":127.878006},{"lat":-11.461084,"lon":127.858231},{"lat":-11.461191,"lon":127.854385},{"lat":-11.460946,"lon":127.84977},{"lat":-11.458869,"lon":127.835938},{"lat":-11.452437,"lon":127.796867},{"lat":-11.449149,"lon":127.777283},{"lat":-11.448219,"lon":127.772537},{"lat":-11.446778,"lon":127.766693},{"lat":-11.444737,"lon":127.759689},{"lat":-11.412716,"lon":127.655344}]},{"text":"","title":"","link":"","strokeColor":"#FF0000","strokeOpacity":"1","strokeWeight":"2","pos":[{"lat":-11.067411,"lon":126.616661},{"lat":-11.074543,"lon":126.620094},{"lat":-11.077132,"lon":126.621834},{"lat":-11.07944,"lon":126.623901},{"lat":-11.081394,"lon":126.626152},{"lat":-11.083591,"lon":126.629555},{"lat":-11.091709,"lon":126.646744},{"lat":-11.093836,"lon":126.650238},{"lat":-11.224738,"lon":126.819633},{"lat":-11.227458,"lon":126.822495},{"lat":-11.232254,"lon":126.826317},{"lat":-11.234738,"lon":126.828644},{"lat":-11.236185,"lon":126.830299},{"lat":-11.242042,"lon":126.837814},{"lat":-11.260909,"lon":126.863472},{"lat":-11.276309,"lon":126.883492},{"lat":-11.278316,"lon":126.886658},{"lat":-11.279822,"lon":126.889908},{"lat":-11.280812,"lon":126.893021},{"lat":-11.281467,"lon":126.896339},{"lat":-11.290932,"lon":126.963972},{"lat":-11.298293,"lon":127.016571},{"lat":-11.299179,"lon":127.021736},{"lat":-11.301673,"lon":127.03437},{"lat":-11.302078,"lon":127.039261},{"lat":-11.302437,"lon":127.055939},{"lat":-11.302963,"lon":127.063126},{"lat":-11.310002,"lon":127.113991},{"lat":-11.317053,"lon":127.164742},{"lat":-11.317296,"lon":127.177933},{"lat":-11.317558,"lon":127.181747},{"lat":-11.318328,"lon":127.185333},{"lat":-11.320534,"lon":127.192619},{"lat":-11.321697,"lon":127.198196},{"lat":-11.332545,"lon":127.276283},{"lat":-11.349445,"lon":127.398293},{"lat":-11.35299,"lon":127.424034},{"lat":-11.361093,"lon":127.482956},{"lat":-11.362175,"lon":127.489357},{"lat":-11.363548,"lon":127.495125},{"lat":-11.412716,"lon":127.655344}]}],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":5,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[]}

Project details

• Operator: ConocoPhillips
• Owner: ConocoPhillips (56.72%), Eni (12.04%), Santos (10.64%), INPEX (10.52%), Tokyo Electric Power and Tokyo Gas (10.08%)
• Parent Company: ConocoPhillips (56.72%), Eni (12.04%), Santos (10.64%), INPEX (10.52%), Tokyo Electric Power and Tokyo Gas (10.08%)
• Capacity: 464.70 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 502 kilometers / 311.93 miles
• Diameter: 26 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 2005

Note the capacity estimate above is based on the amount of dry natural gas (in million cubic feet per day) required to meet the capacity of the 3.24 million tonne per annum Darwin LNG plant.

Background

The Darwin LNG Terminal and connecting pipeline are operated by ConocoPhillips and owned by ConocoPhillips, Eni, Santos, INPEX, and Tokyo Electric Power and Tokyo Gas.. Note the percentage ownership varies slightly from the Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea. The supply of gas from the Bayu-Undan field is expected to run dry by 2023, after which ConocoPhillips had proposed repurposing the pipeline to carry gas from the Barossa gas field and a new floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility, to be built above the Barossa gas field.

In March 2019, ConocoPhillips released plans for cessation of pipeline gas production, noting such activities could begin as early as 2021 or as late as 2023, depending on economic viability of gas production. In this statement, they noted that Bayu-Undan offshore field production was expected to be exhausted by the end of 2022.

In 2022, Santos announced the Darwin Pipeline Duplication Project, which would be a duplication of a segment of the Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline, as parts of their plans to transport gas from the Barossa field to the Darwin LNG Terminal. In this way, the existing Bayu-Undan pipeline infrastructure could be preserved and repurposed to transport CO2 from the Darwin LNG terminal to the depleated Bayu-Undan field as part of a carbon capture storage (CCS) initiative, instead of being used to carry gas from the Barossa field to the LNG Terminal.