Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, June 25 -- BG Group has received conditional approval from the government of Queensland for its proposed 8.5 million tonne/year coal seam gas-to-LNG project on Curtis Island near Gladstone on the state’s east-central coast.
The government has completed its review of the project’s environmental impact statement and has given approval, pending some strict conditions.
These include community and social benefits such as the provision of affordable housing for Gladstone and the surrounding region. BG also will have to develop a plan to maximize participation by local and Queensland suppliers.
BG’s board is expected to consider a final investment decision before yearend. Federal government approval is expected by mid-2011.
The LNG plant will be fed by gas production from coal seam gas fields in the Surat and Bowen Basins to the west flowing through a 540-km pipeline network to the Curtis Island plant.
Production is expected to begin in 2014, underpinned by supply agreements including a 20-year, 3.6 million tpy deal with CNOOC; a 2-year, 1.7 million tpy agreement with Chile; and a 20-year agreement to supply as much as 3 million tpy to Singapore.