Vopak welcomes new Victorian maritime lease legislation
May 21 2025
Vopak today acknowledged and welcomed the recent Victorian Parliamentary approval of the Energy and Land Legislation Amendment (Energy Safety) Bill 2025, which will provide security for the crown maritime lease for Vopak’s proposed Port Phillip Bay floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).
The legislative change enables Vopak to undertake its development in the gas import terminal project with confidence. Vopak acknowledges the leadership role of the Victorian Government in passing the legislation. It builds on the assurance from the Government’s Economic Statement in late 2024 facilitating Vopak’s entry into Victoria’s 18-month Environment Effects Statement (EES) process.
The Vopak Victorian Energy Terminal offers a low impact yet essential solution for securing gas supply necessary to bring greater energy certainty to Victoria and Australia’s eastern seaboard during the transition to net-zero. This will ensure that manufacturers can continue to produce and innovate while the community’s domestic heating and cooking needs are met. Significantly, and as illustrated in a recent report by industry analysts Rystad Energy Advisory, imported gas will not be more expensive than relying on possible future gas pipelined from Northern Australia.
In addition, in Q1 Vopak signed a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) agreement with Hatch Engineering. This ensures that upon successful approval of Vopak’s proposal it can immediately commence construction to ensure a planned delivery date of 2029. Discussions with relevant global parties to deliver an FSRU by 2029 for Port Phillip are advanced.
Vopak Victorian Energy Terminal is the only project in Victoria that has an agreement with an FSRU provider and that has commenced its FEED, making it the most viable option to be operational by 2029. In addition, Vopak’s project does not require dredging within the Bay.
Vopak’s Victoria Energy Terminal would be located approximately 19km directly offshore from Avalon in Port Phillip Bay. It would be located at an existing anchorage site, with no dredging required, minimising the impact on marine life, flora and fauna. A new transmission line would connect into the Moorabool Terminal Station, supplying renewable power for the operation of the project which will minimise CO2 emissions.
In choosing the site for its FSRU, Vopak avoided the extensive and costly dredging requirements presented by all Corio Bay sites owing to the inadequate depth and width of the 31k Geelong Channel. According to a recent report by maritime consultant DNV, the absence of channel dredging would lead to substantial navigational challenges within Corio Bay.
Victorians can be confident in the knowledge that Vopak has extensive experience delivering similar energy infrastructure around the world. Vopak intends to ensure that the Vopak Victoria Energy Terminal is well-planned and entirely fit for purpose ahead of operational commencement in 2029.
Once Victoria has fulfilled its planned transition to net-zero, the FSRU will be able to sail back through the Heads, mitigating the risk of creating underutilized long term legacy assets.
About the Vopak Victorian Energy Terminal
The Vopak Victoria Energy Terminal import terminal will use a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) moored at a simple fixed marine berth within an existing anchorage point in Port Phillip, 19km east of the Avalon shoreline. Victoria’s gas transmission system is accessible within approximately 28km of the FSRU via a subsea pipeline and land-based pipeline route predominantly over farmland managed by Melbourne Water. Vopak Victoria Energy Terminal will ensure energy certainty for Victoria and the East Coast of Australia and will support 500 jobs during construction and 80 jobs during operation. Vopak investigated several sites using marine experts (marine navigation, dredging of berth, marine ecology) which informed Vopak’s decision to choose the Port Phillip site.