MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) said on Thursday it has struck a deal to deliver more gas into the domestic market, following pressure from Canberra to shore up local supply to help drive down local gas and power prices.
APLNG, run by ConocoPhillips <COP.N> and Origin Energy <ORG.AX>, is one of three liquefied natural gas exporters on Australia's east coast that has come under fire for leaving the domestic market short of gas when it is badly needed for power plants as back-up for wind and solar energy.
Origin, Australia's biggest energy retailer, has agreed to buy 41 petajoules (PJ) of gas from APLNG over the next 14 months, raising APLNG's sales into the home market to 186 PJ in 2018, meeting 30 percent of eastern Australia's gas demand.
"We are actively working on more domestic gas sales," APLNG Chief Executive Warwick King said in a statement.
The extra domestic supply will not affect APLNG's export commitments.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
