GasNet owns and maintains a 1,930 kilometre high-pressure gas transmission pipeline network in Victoria, servicing more than 1.4 million residential customers and about 43,000 industrial and commercial users.
The pipeline company also owns a 450km pipeline from Port Hedland to the Telfer gold mine in Western Australia and a liquefied natural gas storage facility in Dandenong, Victoria.
Australian Pipeline Trust chief executive officer Mick McCormack said GasNet had good assets.
“The acquisition of 5.3% of GasNet fits our strategy of investing in pipeline assets at the right price. We are prepared to be a long-term, cornerstone investor in GasNet,” he said
Meanwhile there has been a changing of the guard at Australian Pipeline Trust.
Managing director Jim McDonald retired on Friday. Acting chief executive officer Mick McCormack has been appointed as chief executive officer.
McCormack who has qualifications in science, engineering and business, has 20 years experience in the oil and gas transmissions industry, having begun his career in Queensland as an engineer on the Moonie-to-Brisbane crude oil pipeline.
McCormack is a member of the board of Australian Pipeline Industry Association and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Chief financial officer Graeme Williams also ceased employment with Australian Pipeline Trust from Friday July 1.
After an executive search, Australian Pipeline Trust appointed Richard Francis as chief financial officer, from August 1.
Francis comes to the group from Origin Energy where he was group financial controller for the past five-and-a-half years.
He will be responsible for all Australian Pipeline Trust’s financial matters, including accounting and financial reporting, financial compliance and governance, taxation and treasury, while serving as a director on subsidiary companies within the group.
The Trust is the major ASX-listed natural gas pipeline company in Australia with interests in more than 7,500km of pipeline infrastructure.
Its customers include AGL, Cooper-Eromanga basin producers, Xstrata, Newmont, CS Energy, BHP Billiton, Zinifex, Incitec Pivot, Origin, Energex and
WMC.
