On 13 April 2016 Gas Industry Co received an application from Maui Development Limited (MDL) seeking Gas Industry Co’s support of proposed amendments to the Maui Pipeline Operating Code (MPOC). The proposed amendments aim to facilitate the change in the ownership and operation of the Maui pipeline, and we will call the set of related documents the Change of Ownership Change Request (COCR).
The 13 April 2016 MPOC Change of Ownership Change Request (COCR) will come into effect as soon as a Gas Industry Co Final Recommendation supporting the Change Request is issued. This could be as soon as 4 May 2016, assuming no substantive issues are raised in submissions, and that Gas Indsutry Co continues to support the COCR. Among other matters the COCR:
- removes references to MDL;
- provides that the new owner can carry out the Technical Operator, System Operator, Commercial Operator, Balancing Agent and Incentives Pool Trustee roles; and
- adjusts the ring-fencing arrangements to be appropriate for the changed circumstances.
The COCR and other supporting documents are available below.
Background to COCR
In November 2015 the provisional sale of Vector Gas Limited was announced. This was followed, in December 2015, by an announcement that the Maui pipeline would also be sold. The prospective new owners of both pipelines are infrastructure funds and investors managed by Colonial First State Infrastructure Managers (Australia) Limited, Colonial First State Management Infrastructure Limited and First State Infrastructure Managers (International) Limited, collectively known outside of Australia as First State Investments (FSI).
FSI proposes initially to complete the acquisition of Vector Gas Limited, which will be renamed First Gas Limited (First Gas). First Gas will then acquire the Maui pipeline. The COCR would come into effect on completion of that acquisition, making the MPOC compatible with the new ownership arrangement. This should smooth the transition for First Gas and its customers; the Maui pipeline Shippers and Welded Parties.
PRe-consultation on COCR
In January 2016, MDL and FSI discussed early drafts of the COCR with Gas Industry Co. In the following months they refined the COCR through discussions with Maui pipeline Shippers and Welded Parties until they were confident that the COCR was in a form that was acceptable to those pipeline users.
Timetable for processing COCR
FSI has requested that Gas Industry Co consider an expedited change request process. Given the level of pre-consultation with parties directly affected by the COCR, we think this is reasonable and therefore publish the COCR together with our Draft Recommendation (which supports the change request). Assuming no material issues are raised during consultation on these documents, we will publish a Final Recommendation in line with the COCR Process Timetable below.
| FSI formally submits COCR to GIC | Wednesday, 13 April 2016 |
| GIC issues COCR and Draft Recommendation and calls for submissions | Thursday, 14 April 2016 |
| Submissions on COCR and Draft Recommendation close | Friday, 29 April 2016 |
| GIC issues Final Recommendation (assuming no substantive issues are raised in submissions) | Wednesday, 4 May 2016 |
Submissions on both the COCR and our Draft Recommendation closed on Friday 29 April 2016. You can view the submissions below