Preliminary investigations by the West Australian Government suggest a transmission pipeline from Dampier to Moomba in South Australia could be built for about 20% more than a Darwin-Moomba link.

Moomba is the main hub for gas delivered in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide and it can be used to switch gas into Melbourne.

"While not viable today, a gas pipeline from the north-west to the south-east is potentially viable by the middle of the next decade," Maxwell told the Australian Resources and Energy 2003 conference.

Maxwell also supported the idea that the pipeline would minimize the sovereign risk associated with pipelines from PNG or the Timor Sea.

"I would contest, from an Australian point of view, this (the trans-national pipeline) is a much better solution for the longer term requirements for the south and east of Australia than pipelines from anywhere else," Maxwell said.

For those with a long memory, the plan is similar to the ill-fated plan of Labor politician Rex O'Connor in the early 1970's to link the west and east coasts with a gas pipeline. This folded in controversy when it was found that funds earmarked for the project had originated from suspect sources from the Middle East in what became known as the "Khemlani affair."