SEA gas is committed to an Open Access Policy that ensures that prospective customers can access services on the SEA Gas pipeline system in a fair, efficient, confidential and timely manner.

The main elements of the Open Access Policy are:

Marketing Policy

SEA Gas offers competitively priced Open Access to services on the SEA Gas pipeline system. The quantum of services that SEA Gas is able to offer will vary from time to time depending on existing contract commitments. SEA Gas maintains a registry of Current Offers on this website showing indicative quantities, prices and terms for the services available at any point in time.

Trading Policy

SEA Gas facilitates the trading of existing contracted capacity by providing a forum on this website where potential buyers and sellers of traded capacity can advertise their offerings.

Queuing Policy

If at anytime the demand for SEA Gas pipeline services exceeds the currently available uncontracted or tradable capacity, SEA Gas will employ a "first come first served" approach to allocate the available capacity.

If there is no spare uncontracted capacity, SEA Gas will inquire of existing customers whether an opportunity for trade exists and advise a potential customer accordingly.

If there is no spare uncontracted capacity and no trading opportunity exists, a potential customer can discuss expansion of the capacity of the SEA Gas pipeline directly and confidentially with SEA Gas.

Where two or more parties have committed to common expansion studies and any part of those studies occurs simultaneously, SEA Gas will employ a "first come first served" approach in allocating resources and responding to customer applications.

As with all requests for service, SEA Gas expects the customer will seek to address and discuss opportunities within a reasonable timeframe.

Expansion Policy

SEA Gas recognises that the capacity and scope of the uncontracted or tradable pipeline services that are available at any time may be unable to satisfy a potential customer’s needs. SEA Gas therefore will consider requests to expand the pipeline system subject to:

• the expansion being technically feasible,
• the expansion being economically feasible, and
• the establishment of satisfactory funding arrangements for the expansion.

SEA Gas’ consideration of any requests for expansion of the existing pipeline system will be subject to completion of a Confidentiality Agreement and the Pipeline Service Request Form. Some fees may be applicable and this is set out in Access Applications.

Confidentiality / Ring Fencing Policy

SEA Gas is an independent pipeline operating entity and conducts negotiations with its customers on a strictly confidential and ring fenced basis, with particular regard to protecting the commercial interests of potential customers in markets upstream or downstream of the pipeline system.

• The SEA Gas Partnership (SEA Gas) and its management company (South East Australia Gas Pty Ltd) have been established as single purpose pipeline operating entities that will not engage in any related activities such as gas producing, purchasing or marketing.
• SEA Gas maintains independent, audited accounts for the SEA Gas pipeline system.
• SEA Gas has implemented strict procedures for office segregation, filing and electronic data security, and for its Marketing Staff to ensure no inadvertent breach of this Policy. Confidential information provided to SEA Gas by a prospective customer will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided, and not disclosed to any other person without the approval of the prospective customer, and
• All staff involved in the marketing of services on the SEA Gas pipeline are employees of SEA Gas, and do not work for any associate involved in any related business.

SEA Gas Directors and Owners are only presented with the details of Access Applications when a Term Sheet is signed. All negotiations prior to presentation of a Term Sheet, including the completion of the Pipeline Service Request Form, are handled exclusively by direct employees of SEA Gas, overseen by the independent SEA Gas General Manager.

In signing a Term Sheet, the SEA Gas General Manager will not bind SEA Gas to commit to the expansion, but will bind SEA Gas to negotiate in good faith to translate the Term Sheet into a Contract on substantially the same terms, and to seek funding for the expansion thereof.

When completing a Term Sheet, customers should be mindful of considerations that include:

• A Term Sheet must have sufficient detail to allow SEA Gas to make its good faith commitment to translate the Term Sheet (ie check that customer creditworthiness, technical and economic feasibility, and lenders covenants etc have been properly considered).
• The sooner a Term sheet can be elevated to the SEA Gas Directors and Financiers the sooner the SEA Gas Directors can discharge their fiduciary duties and / or revert to the Partnership Committee and Owners to progress any equity component of the funding, as well as endorse any proposal for procuring any debt component of the expansion funding.

Associate Company Policy

Associate companies of the SEA Gas owners may seek services on the pipeline at some future time. SEA Gas undertakes to treat these parties no more or less favourably than any other customer.

Pricing Principles Policy

In order to determine the price for a service offering or tailored request for service, SEA Gas will consider capital and establishment costs, non-capital and operational costs, term, rate of return, and inflation.

The rate of return used in determining Tariffs provides a return that is commensurate with conditions in the market for funds and the risks involved in delivering the Service.

With regards to expansions and extensions of the Pipeline System, SEA Gas requires that construction of facilities shall be in accordance with Pipeline Industry practice in Australia and in particular that SEA Gas:

• constructs take-off points and any expansion of the Pipeline System,
• approves facility designs, and
• owns and maintains delivery points, metering facilities and any pipework or equipment upstream of these facilities.