Gas supply update 4: Bathurst, Wallerawang, Lithgow and Oberon

APA Group is continuing to work as quickly and as safely as possible to repair the section of its Young Lithgow Pipeline, which has impacted gas supply to the Bathurst, Wallerawang, Lithgow and Oberon areas.

Our initial assessment suggests the damage to the pipeline between Bathurst and Oberon has occurred as a result of flooding in the region, which is also making repair to the pipeline challenging.

APA is actively working on a range of short and long-term solutions to restore gas supply as safely and as quickly as possible.

Gas supply has now started being restored to some households and businesses in Bathurst, and this will continue over the next 1 to 2 weeks. This has been accelerated because this section of the pipeline was not directly impacted by the flood zone (see location on the map below).

Subject to weather conditions not deteriorating and suitable construction conditions, we anticipate a permanent solution could see gas supply restored to consumers in Lithgow, Wallerawang and Oberon in approximately 4 weeks.

In the meantime, we are looking at a range of temporary solutions, including the potential to truck LNG which would be linked into the transmission line that services the Lithgow, Wallerawang and Oberon communities. If feasible, we anticipate a temporary solution could be in place within 7-10 days with further time required for Jemena to connect some consumers. APA will work with Jemena to prioritise connections as this only allows some gas supply to be reinstated.

We understand the urgency of this issue and are working closely with the impacted communities. We will continue to provide updates as works progress.

Location of pipeline incident