Santos' $18.5 Billion Gladstone LNG Project in Australia Now 75% Complete

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Construction on the Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) project, which is operated by Santos Limited (ASX:STO) (Adelaide, Australia), is now 75% complete.

In May 2013, the GLNG project team celebrated hitting the halfway mark. The 7.8 million metric-ton-per-year LNG production plant will begin exporting in the second half of 2015.

Construction peaked in 2013, with roughly 6,000 workers on the job across the upstream coal seam gas (CSG) field works, as well as midstream to downstream aspects of the project. CSG from the Bowen and Surat Basins will be transported via a 420-kilometer pipeline to reach Curtis Island, off Gladstone in Queensland, where LNG production will take place. The main export pipeline will be complete in a matter of months.

After 10 months of tunnelling work, the 4.3-kilometer pipeline tunnel under Gladstone Harbour connected the mainland to the island. The tunnel will be lined and flooded, and the pipeline will then be floated and pulled through. Burial of 410 kilometers of the pipeline has been completed along the 420-kilometer route, and 282 kilometers of pipeline easement is under rehabilitation.

On the island, the last three of 82 of modules are being connected to form the first LNG train. The second LNG train is also under construction. The two 39-meter-high LNG storage tanks are clearly visible from above. The biggest and most advanced of the three hubs, "Fairview 4," is upstream. Mechanical completion has begun, and the construction team is focused on the hub's electrical switch rooms and utility systems. The water treatment facilities are now complete.

Santos CEO David Knox was joined by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman on a visit to the downstream project site on Curtis Island to mark the 75% completion milestone.

"To date, Santos GLNG has provided $5.1 billion worth of work to Queensland businesses, and over the coming decades of operation, Santos GLNG will contribute billions of dollars in royalty payments to the people of Queensland," Knox said.

The total contracted sales of LNG currently stand at 7.2 million metric tons per year to two customers: Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) (Seongnam, South Korea) and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). KOGAS also owns a 15% equity interest in the GLNG project; Petronas owns 27.5%, as does Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France). Santos is project operator and the largest equity owner, with a 30% project share.

View Project Report - 86000870 200003236 200003556 300115686 300034876 300034875 300034731 300131204

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.