Epic told the Australian Stock Exchange this morning that if the proposed BMI went ahead, it would for the first time, transport sales quality CMS from southeast Queensland to the South Australian, New South Wales, and Victorian gas markets, without the need for reprocessing through the Moomba gas processing plant.

The proposed pipeline, expected to cost between $60 million and $120 million to construct, depending on customer demand and final configuration, would connect Epic’s South West Queensland Pipeline (SWQP), with both Epic’s Moomba-Adelaide pipeline and Australian Pipeline Trust’s Moomba-Sydney pipeline.

With a planned start-up of 2008, the BMI, together with the SWQP, would be capable of transporting between 20 petajoules and 90PJ annually between gas sources near Wallumbilla in southeastern Queensland to Moomba during calendar year 2008.

Managing director Alan Freer said the FEED study was a result of “significant interest” to transport CSM gas from Queensland’s CSM hub into the major gas markets in the eastern states.

“A BMI would complement our existing pipeline infrastructure and represents an exciting opportunity to transport cost-efficient CSM gas to the expanding southern markets,” Freer said.

“Importantly, because the BMI will be an open access pipeline, it will increase basin on basin gas competition between the Bowen/Surat, Cooper, Otway and Gippsland basins.”

Starting immediately, the FEED study is expected take up to six months to complete. During that time, negotiations will continue with interested parties to secure foundation shipper agreements.

Current estimated reserves of coal seam gas in Queensland exceed 4300PJ and some estimates of recoverable future reserves exceeding 10,000PJ.