The 1,200-km link is being proposed by the joint venture of the Australian Gas Light Co and Petronas, which is building and will own the PNG-Townsville section. The system will bring Papua New Guinea gas to SE Australia, as Ballera is linked to Moomba, and Moomba has lines to Sydney and Adelaide. Ballera also has pipelines extending north to the Gulf of Carpentaria and east to Brisbane.

An environmental impact assessment is being prepared for the Townsville-Ballera line. AGL-Petronas is endeavouring to get all development approvals before the end of this year, so construction can begin by mid-2007.