Two years of production marked

Local business and industry are celebrating two years of production at BHP Billiton’s Macedon Domestic Gas Plant in Onslow.

Macedon commenced operation in September 2013 after two years of construction and 21 years after discovery of the Macedon gas field.

During construction, BHP Billiton awarded more than $5.8 million in contracts to Onslow businesses and spent over $1.5 million with local business.

BHP Billiton has also committed over $6.1 million to social investment projects, including the upcoming construction of the new basketball complex and Onslow’s first Skate Park.

BHP Billiton’s Petroleum Australian operations manager Doug Handyside said the level of collaboration between local providers and BHP Billion had been strong not only over the last two years but during construction of the asset.

“We are continuously working with Onslow’s businesses, including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to identify opportunities where there are synergies between what Macedon needs and what local businesses can provide,” he said.

“We are looking forward to continuing to work with Onslow’s businesses for many years to come.”

“For BHP Billiton, our investments in Onslow are about creating partnerships with the community to improving peoples’ lives,” Mr Handyside said.

OCCI president Geoff Herbert said BHP’s level of engagement from businesses since beginning construction had been fantastic.

“They engaged local business from start and have been great supporters of the local chamber,” he said.

“If BHP had more projects in Onslow, we would welcome them with open arms.”

Macedon is BHP Billiton’s largest Australian Domestic Gas Plant, located about 17 kilometres southwest of Onslow.

The joint venture between BHP Billiton and Quadrant Energy sees approximately 200 TJ/d of natural gas for delivery to the WA domestic gas market via the Dampier-to-Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

This equates to a capacity to supply 20 per cent of Western Australia’s domestic gas market.