First Gas Transmission Pipeline
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The First Gas Transmission Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline system in New Zealand.[1]
Location
The pipeline system runs from the New Plymouth area to Whangarei in the northern part of the north island, to Taupo centrally, to Gisborne and Napier in the east, and to Wellington in the south.[2]
Project details
- Operator: First Gas[2]
- Parent company: First Gas[2]
- Length: 2207 kilometers[3]
- Status: Operating[4]
- Start year: 1969[5]
First Gas notes the total length of their pipeline network, including the Maui Pipeline, amounts to 2514 kilometers (see [3], page 16). The length above has been calculated by subtracting the Maui Pipeline's length from 2514 kilometers[3]
Background
The Natural Gas Corporation (NGC) was established by the New Zealand government to buy, process, and wholesale natural gas from the Kapuni gas field, which was discovered in 1959.[6] NGC built the first high-pressure gas transmission lines in the late 1960s, initially supplying Kapuni gas to Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, and Wellington. The network was expanded through the 1970s and 1980s, supporting the major expansion of the oil and gas industry at that time.[7]
NGC was privatized in 1992.[6] The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) sold NGC to Vector Limited in 2004 and 2005. The company was again sold in 2016 to First State Funds, being renamed First Gas during the acquisition.[8]
The 2020 First Gas Transmission Asset Management Plan noted plans to explore the viability of a a minor expansion near Warkworth to meet increased demand from customers there, estimating the cost of the project at NZ$5 million.[3]
In 2025, Firstgas announced it was getting closer to launching a hydrogen blending project. The plan involves introducing a small amount of hydrgoen into the natural gas pipeline in Te Horo, with 14 households using the blended gas for the trial period. The blend with begin at 2% hydrogen and increased to 15% hydrogen. Firstgas also launched a biomethane initiative in 2024, with renewable gas flowing for residential and commercial users near Reporoa.[9]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Transmission and Distribution, Gas Industry Company Limited, accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Network Map, First Gas, accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 First Gas Transmission Asset Management Plan 2020 Summary Document, 2020, accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
- ↑ "Network maps". firstgas.co.nz. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ↑ Jackson, Tim. "New Zealand gas pipelines: past, present and future - The Australian Pipeliner". www.pipeliner.com.au. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 History of Natural Gas in NZ, Gas Association of New Zealand, accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
- ↑ The Maui Gas Field, Te Ara - Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Jul. 13, 2012, accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
- ↑ Completion of Vector Gas Ltd Purchase by First State Funds, First Gas, Apr. 20, 2016, accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
- ↑ "Why we're planning a small pilot to blend hydrogen into the Firstgas pipeline". firstgas.co.nz. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
Related GEM.wiki articles
External resources
External articles
Existing Pipelines in New Zealand
Wikipedia also has an article on First Gas (First Gas). This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License].
