Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas Project Nears Completion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--The Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas Project (QCLNG) is nearing completion. When liquefied natural gas (LNG) is shipped from Curtis Island to customers in Asia, it will be a world first.

BG Group (LSE:BG) (Reading, England) was given the go-ahead by the state and federal governments only three years ago, and since then QGC, a subsidiary of BG Group and the operator of the project, has created the first operation that will use unconventional gas reserves to produce LNG. Coal seam gas (CSG), also known as coal bed methane (CBM), will be sourced from the Surat Basin via 2,000 individual wells, one-third of which already have been drilled. QGC is currently operating 11 drilling rigs in the region, drilling about 50 wells a month.

As much of the Surat Basin is already used for agriculture, current land use has been taken into account. About 1,800 of the 2,000 land access agreements needed have been signed.

In order to transport the raw gas to the field compressor stations, 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometres) of low-pressure gathering pipelines need to be laid. QGC contractors are currently laying about 150 miles (240 kilometres) per month, with 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometres) laid so far. The project requires that each field compressor station be supplied from more than 100 wells over the course of its lifetime.

Work in the gas fields is split into two regions: the Northern Development Region and the Southern Development Region. The Northern region, near Wandoan, consists of 500 wells, five field compressor stations, a central processing facility, and a water treatment facility.

The Ruby Joe Central Processing Facility, located near Chinchilla in the Southern Development Region, is on track to be complete by the end of the year. At full capacity, it will produce 440 million metric standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD), which is equivalent to the daily consumption of about half a million homes.

The field compressor stations and central processing facilities take shape quickly. Activity progresses from earthworks, pilling and concreting, to construction and the installation of pipe work and electronics very quickly. Work on the 335-mile (530-kilometre) main pipeline is also progressing quickly, with all main line welds complete and 75% of the pipeline in place.

First gas is expected to reach the two-train LNG facility by November. All 62 modules required for train one, the utility system, and five modules for train 2 already have been delivered, with the rest scheduled to arrive before the end of the year. Work on the landing jetty, storage tanks and other infrastructure is almost finished. Overall, the QCLNG project is 65% complete.

Between the gas fields in the Surat Basin and the LNG facility on Curtis Island, QGC is employing more than 12,000 people.

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