Moomba, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids MoombaGidgealpa, South Australia |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Moomba
Location in South Australia
|
|||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5710 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 39 m (128 ft) | ||||||||
| Location |
|
||||||||
| LGA(s) | Pastoral Unincorporated Area | ||||||||
| Region | Far North | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Stuart | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Grey | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
Moomba is a special kind of town in South Australia. It's a "company town," which means it's mostly owned and run by a company called Santos Limited. This town is not open to the public. It's located about 770 kilometers (about 478 miles) north of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia.
The main reason Moomba exists is to find and process natural gas. This gas comes from deep underground in areas called the Cooper and Eromanga Basins.
Contents
Where is Moomba Located?
Moomba is found on the Strzelecki Track. This is a famous road that goes through the northeastern part of South Australia and into South West Queensland. The town sits on a flat area with sand dunes around it. It's not very high above sea level. Many hundreds of kilometers to the southwest is Lake Eyre, which is actually below sea level!
Moomba's Story
Moomba was built in the 1960s and 1970s. This happened after people discovered lots of gas and oil in the area.
The very first time gas was found in a way that could be sold was at a place called Gidgealpa in 1963. Later, in 1970, oil was found at the Tirrawarra field. More oil was discovered at the Strzelecki field in 1978.
Gas started being sold to Adelaide in 1969. Then, in 1976, gas began to be sent all the way to Sydney. A special type of gas called ethane also started going to Sydney in 1996.
In January 2004, there was an explosion at the gas plant in Moomba. This event was big news across Australia. It caused a temporary shortage of gas for Santos Ltd, which was very costly.
Who Works in Moomba?
About 1,201 people work for Santos Ltd in Moomba and the surrounding Cooper Basin area. This number also includes workers at the Ballera plant in Queensland.
All these employees work on a "fly-in, fly-out" basis. This means they fly to Moomba for their work shifts and then fly back home. Because of this, no one lives in Moomba permanently.
What's at Moomba?
Moomba has its own paved airstrip. It also has "camp" buildings where the "fly-in, fly-out" workers stay. These workers are mostly employees of Santos.
A company called Alliance Airlines operates daily flights for passengers to and from Adelaide. However, regular people cannot just fly to Moomba. Only employees, contractors, and visitors who have special permission can go there.
The NRMA, a motoring group in New South Wales, warns travelers that Moomba does not have public facilities. They state that the Moomba plant and its operations are closed to the public. This means there are no shops, supplies, or places to stay for travelers passing by.
Getting Gas and Oil
Moomba is a very important place for getting natural resources like gas and oil.
Natural Gas from Moomba
The Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System started in 1969. This pipeline is 832 kilometers (about 517 miles) long. It carries natural gas from Moomba all the way to Adelaide. This same pipeline is also used to bring gas from Queensland. This arrangement was agreed upon in 1991 and finished in 1993.
There is another pipeline, 659 kilometers (about 409 miles) long, that goes southwest to Port Bonython, South Australia. This pipeline carries liquid products from the gas for export overseas.
A similar gas pipeline to Sydney was finished in 1976. It stretches over 1,299 kilometers (about 807 miles) to Wilton, Sydney. An ethane pipeline was built along the same path to Botany in Sydney in 1996.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics explains how gas is processed at Moomba. First, water and carbon dioxide are removed from the raw gas. Then, a special plant takes out valuable liquids like condensate, ethane, and LPG. The clean gas is then sent through pipelines to Sydney and Adelaide. The separated liquids and crude oil are sent through another pipeline to a plant at Port Bonython.
Because the amount of gas from Moomba's fields was expected to reach its highest point around 2006, the company Epic Energy announced a plan in 2007. They wanted to connect the Moomba pipeline to other gas sources in southwest Queensland.
Oil from Moomba
Large amounts of oil were found in Moomba in 1970 and again in 1978. This oil is taken out of the ground and sent through pipelines to places where it can be sold.
Moomba's Weather
Moomba has very hot weather. In January, the hottest month, the average highest temperature is 38.6°C (101.5°F). At night, the average lowest temperature is 24.5°C (76.1°F).
July is the coldest month in winter. The average highest temperature is 19.6°C (67.3°F), and the average lowest temperature is 6.4°C (43.5°F). On January 12, 2013, Moomba had a record-breaking temperature of 49.6°C (121.3°F). This is one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in South Australia!
Moomba is located near a region that gets the least amount of rain in Australia. This area includes places like Marree and Lake Eyre. The rainfall in Moomba is very unpredictable. Some years, it might not rain at all. However, when it does rain, it can be very heavy. Strong and damaging thunderstorms can happen a few days each year. Light winter rain can also occur, but it's rare and doesn't happen every year. The most rain ever recorded in one month was in January 1974, when 439.4 mm (17.3 inches) of rain fell.
| Climate data for Moomba (average temperatures from Moomba Airport (1995–2016); average rainfall from Moomba (1972–2005); extremes from both sites) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 49.6 (121.3) |
46.0 (114.8) |
45.2 (113.4) |
39.9 (103.8) |
34.1 (93.4) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.9 (87.6) |
34.8 (94.6) |
41.5 (106.7) |
43.5 (110.3) |
47.1 (116.8) |
49.1 (120.4) |
49.6 (121.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 38.6 (101.5) |
37.0 (98.6) |
33.9 (93.0) |
29.3 (84.7) |
23.9 (75.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.6 (67.3) |
22.7 (72.9) |
27.3 (81.1) |
30.8 (87.4) |
34.2 (93.6) |
36.5 (97.7) |
29.5 (85.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) |
23.6 (74.5) |
20.4 (68.7) |
15.6 (60.1) |
10.8 (51.4) |
7.5 (45.5) |
6.4 (43.5) |
8.0 (46.4) |
12.2 (54.0) |
15.7 (60.3) |
19.6 (67.3) |
22.2 (72.0) |
15.5 (59.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 10.9 (51.6) |
13.8 (56.8) |
8.6 (47.5) |
4.2 (39.6) |
1.2 (34.2) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
2.1 (35.8) |
2.6 (36.7) |
6.7 (44.1) |
10.0 (50.0) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 40.0 (1.57) |
26.4 (1.04) |
9.9 (0.39) |
13.5 (0.53) |
16.2 (0.64) |
11.2 (0.44) |
16.9 (0.67) |
8.6 (0.34) |
10.9 (0.43) |
18.7 (0.74) |
13.2 (0.52) |
20.2 (0.80) |
205.7 (8.11) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) | 3.3 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 32.2 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
