Queensland approves A$35bn LNG project

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland government on Tuesday approved what could be a A$35-billion investment by Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas (APLNG) to develop a coal seam gas (CSG) to a LNG project.

The approval followed 18 months of environmental assessment, and was the latest in a series of LNG milestones, which also included the approval of the Gladstone LNG project.

The APLNG project would go to the federal government for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

"The project has a life of at least 30 years and is expected to create up to 5 000 construction jobs at its peak and 1 000 ongoing operational jobs," said Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on Tuesday.

"The momentum of our new liquefied natural gas industry is growing and this is the latest announcement that promises thousands of jobs in our state," she said.

Besides the direct jobs, the project would also support several more indirect jobs throughout the Queensland economy, she added.

Construction of the project, including the first two LNG trains could start in 2011, with first exports scheduled for 2014.

The project is made up of three key elements, namely the further development of APLNG's CSG resources in the Walloons gas fields, the construction of a 450-km underground gas pipeline from the gas fields to Gladstone, and the development of an LNG processing plant on Curtis Island near Gladstone comprising four gas trains with a total capacity of up to 18-million tons a year.

The APLNG project is a joint venture (JV) between ASX-listed Origin Energy and ConocoPhillips.

APLNG project director Page Maxson said that gaining state approval was a significant milestone in realising the potential benefits of the project and ensuring appropriate management of the potential environmental impacts.

“The project will form part of a burgeoning world-scale, long-term industry in Queensland, using APLNG’s substantial CSG resources in the Surat and Bowen basin,” said Maxson.

Origin will be responsible for the construction and management of the CSG resource and related facilities while ConocoPhillips will oversee construction and management of the LNG plant and export facilities on behalf of APLNG, said Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

Hinchliffe noted that the coordinator-general's report contained a comprehensive set of conditions for the project to meet before it could proceed.

"The conditions set very clear principles and procedures with respect to a number of key environmental values," the Minister said.

"Under legislation and policies recently introduced, the proponent must prepare a coal seam gas water management plan and a ground-water monitoring and mitigation strategy before it gets its final environmental approvals to ensure that coal seam water is effectively managed and the Great Artesian Basin ground-water resource is protected."

Hinchliffe said a range of other conditions were also in place and included additional housing stock, logistical plans for transport, an integrated housing and accommodation strategy, as well as gas infrastructure.

"The stringent conditions contained in the coordinator-general's report, including detailed ongoing monitoring and reporting requirements, should give the community confidence that the project will meet the high standards required during construction and operation," said Maxson.