Westside signs a two-year gas sale agreement with Orica, marking its entry as a supplier to the domestic gas market.

The agreement involves 4 terajoules (TJs) a day of gas to be supplied from the Greater Meridian Field joint venture, between WestSide and Mitsui E&P Australia, to Orica’s Gladstone plant.

The Meridian increased production fourfold to approximately 40 terajoules a day when it was acquired by Landbridge in 2014 and then acquired nearby acreage holding uncontracted gas from PetroChina two years later. Westside now holds more than 1,000 petajoules of gas reserves on its acreage.

While reserves at the Meridian venture are dedicated to GLNG, the additional acreage acquired from PetroChina offered the benefit of uncontracted gas, while pipeline connections are in place to both the domestic gas grid and to the export project.

“The GLNG contract has been an excellent foundation for the business and is what has really allowed us to be able to materially develop the resource there,” Westside Chief Commercial Officer Matt Wallach said.

“Now that we’ve hit a point that we’ve reached a reasonable scale it gives us the ability to also diversify that portfolio.”

Westside Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Hughes said the government’s gas acceleration project had helped accelerate drilling and pave the way for the new contract.