Blast affects Apache natural gas supplies to Australia

Apache Corp., the most active explorer in Australia, said an explosion at its plant on Varanus Island off Western Australia will affect natural-gas pipeline deliveries to the domestic market for “a number of days.”

“We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of personnel and minimize the impact of the incident,” Tim Wall, managing director of the Houston-based company’s Australian unit, said in the statement. “We have notified government authorities and also gas customers who will be affected by the disruption in gas supply.”

Gas from Varanus Island, about 100 kilometers from the town of Karratha, is pumped to Western Australia state’s capital of Perth, a city of about 1.2 million, via the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline. The Apache plant provides 30 to 40 percent of Western Australia’s gas supplies, news provider AAP said.

Bloomberg News