Ballera gas plant
27°23′26″S 141°48′23″E / 27.3905°S 141.8064°E Ballera gas plant is a natural-gas processing facility located on the Nappa Merrie pastoral lease in Durham in the Shire of Bullo in southwestern Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Santos Limited.[1]
The gas plant processes gas from approximately 130 wells in 45 gas fields in the Eromanga Basin. Processed gas is transmitted via the 755 km South West Queensland Pipeline to the trading hub at Wallumbilla (east of Roma) in southeastern Queensland, via the QSN Link extension of that pipeline to Moomba (180 km southwest, in northeastern South Australia) and via the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline to Mount Isa (800 km north). It is served by the Ballera Airport as workers fly in and out. Crude oil is not processed at Ballera, but at Jackson, 65 km southeast.[2]
The Ballera gas plant is operated by Santos Limited which is slightly over 60% owner of the facility. The other joint owners are Beach Energy and Origin Energy.[2]
The plant was established in 1991, but gas needed further processing at Moomba. It was upgraded in 1997[3] and 2003.[4]
Geography
Climate
Ballera experiences a subtropical desert climate (Köppen: BWh) with very hot summers, mild winters and low, yet erratic rainfall year-round.[5] The wettest recorded day was 9 May 2016 with 96.8 mm (3.81 in) of rainfall. Extreme temperatures ranged from 47.8 °C (118.0 °F) on 2 January 2014 to −1.1 °C (30.0 °F) on 9 July 2011.[6]
| Climate data for Ballera Gas Field (27°24′S 141°49′E / 27.40°S 141.81°E) (115 m (377 ft) AMSL) (1998-2025) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.8 (118.0) |
47.1 (116.8) |
45.1 (113.2) |
38.6 (101.5) |
33.8 (92.8) |
30.8 (87.4) |
32.9 (91.2) |
38.7 (101.7) |
42.4 (108.3) |
44.6 (112.3) |
47.0 (116.6) |
46.8 (116.2) |
47.8 (118.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 39.8 (103.6) |
37.9 (100.2) |
34.9 (94.8) |
30.1 (86.2) |
24.4 (75.9) |
20.5 (68.9) |
20.5 (68.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
28.1 (82.6) |
32.7 (90.9) |
35.5 (95.9) |
38.2 (100.8) |
30.5 (86.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2) |
24.6 (76.3) |
22.0 (71.6) |
17.1 (62.8) |
11.7 (53.1) |
8.2 (46.8) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.3 (48.7) |
13.3 (55.9) |
17.4 (63.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.9 (75.0) |
16.8 (62.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.6 (61.9) |
15.3 (59.5) |
11.1 (52.0) |
8.2 (46.8) |
2.4 (36.3) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
2.4 (36.3) |
5.2 (41.4) |
7.1 (44.8) |
9.1 (48.4) |
13.5 (56.3) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 26.4 (1.04) |
21.4 (0.84) |
37.5 (1.48) |
10.3 (0.41) |
10.2 (0.40) |
13.0 (0.51) |
7.0 (0.28) |
7.9 (0.31) |
13.6 (0.54) |
10.4 (0.41) |
22.4 (0.88) |
12.5 (0.49) |
192.9 (7.59) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 3.8 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 33.8 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology (1998-2025)[7] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Layers: Locality, Property names; Petroleum leases". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Ballera". What we do. Santos Limited. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "Official Opening of Upgraded Ballera Gas Plant". Santos Limited. 14 October 1997. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "Ballera Gas Centre expansion complete". Energy News Australia. 3 December 2003. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "Ballera Gas Field Climate (1998-2025)". FarmOnline Weather. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "Ballera Gas Field Climate Statistics (1998-2025)". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 20 January 2026.