Obsolescence
By the 1960s production of gas from coal was an obsolete technology. By 1963 the Geelong Gas Company had changed production methods, using a Onia Gegi reforming plant to convert hydrocarbon gases from the Shell oil refinery at Corio into town gas. The new reforming plant was visited by many other gas companies as an example of modern Syngas technology. The former coal carbonising equipment was only used when coke (a by-product of the gasification process) was required.
The discovery of abundant reserves of natural gas in Bass Strait shook up town gas production. In 16 March 1967 a letter of intent was signed by the Geelong Gas Company with the Esso Exploration and Production of Australia Ltd and Haematite Petroleum Pty Ltd to buy natural gas from their Bass Strait gas fields for a 20 year period.
The cost of conversion of the Geelong system to natural gas was estimated at $2.5 to $3 million dollars, with a likely completion date of 1971. The conversion entailed building a new pipeline from Melbourne, purging the old gas from the mains, change over of all burners in all gas appliances, changes to valves in the distribution network to permit the higher pressures, and removal of the now-unneeded gasworks.
The main natural gas pipeline between Geelong and Melbourne was finished in February 1971. Costing $1.7 million, the pipeline was designed to operate at a maximum pressure of 1000psi, and carry 60 million cubic feet (1,700,000 m3) of gas a day. Conversion of homes to natural gas commenced on 15 March 1971, starting at suburbs furthermost from the gasworks, and was completed by the end of August 1971.
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