SURAT BASIN
NEWS
29 January 2015
QCLNG
Exporting gas from the Surat Basin to the world
$1.30 inc GST
SURAT BASIN NEWS
THE NEWSPAPER
EDITOR'S
NOTE IN THIS special edition of Surat Basin News we have taken a close look at the colossal Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas (QCLNG) project. QCLNG is a world first. Never before has a project turned gas from coal seams into liquefied natural gas (LNG). Spanning more than a decade, the QCLNG project has had a huge impact on communities in the Western Downs area of the Surat Basin in Southern Queensland, and right up to the Gladstone region. It has employed thousands of workers and injected billions of dollars into the economy along the journey to achieving the first export of LNG from Queensland. But the picture hasn’t always been so rosy. A massive influx of workers for the project had a huge impact on small Surat Basin communities that were not built to cope with the rapid population growth. Many local families were forced to move from the area, no longer able to afford to rent their homes made more expensive after the population increase. The industry has also caused unrest amongst landholders, confused by its methods and shocked at the speed with which it progressed. This edition of Surat Basin News will tell the story of the QCLNG project. Naturally, it begins at the start on pages 4-5. It tracks the major milestones of the project and talks to the people who made it happen, the local businesses, landholders, workers, and the protesters. Regardless of where you sit on the spectrum, this project has been an incredible achievement.
THE VISION
TEAM
The Surat Basin News publishes every Surat Basin News will allow local month and will be delivered via the four businesses to network and dominant newspapers of the region: the communicate with everyone in the 1200 Chinchilla News, Western Star, Dalby sq km basin, providing unprecedented Herald and The Chronicle. It will reach access to new clients and markets. It the homes and offices of almost 50,000 will give a revealing insight into major people living, working and playing in the industry while lifting the veil on current Surat Basin, connecting the business and and proposed developments. It will be mining communities throughout the there for each and every announcement booming region. Surat Basin News is a shaping the region's future while necessity. It was born out of a passion for profiling the colourful characters that Australia's fastest growing communities define our communities. — a passion for a region of unbridled potential and a future of vast economic growth and opportunities. The newspaper, professionally designed and regionally The Surast Basin News is inserted into topical, will be a must read for anyone the four dominant local newspapers for associated with the exciting Surat Basin. the region: the Chinchilla News and Murilla Advertiser, Western Star Roma, Dalby Herald and The Chronicle Toowoomba. Surat Basin News has gone online to ensure our readers in every corner of the country has the latest news sent directly to them. Newsagents in - Chinchilla, Roma, Dalby, Gladstone, Moura, Toowoomba, Calliope
JOURNALISTS
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EDITOR
Jim Campbell Mara Pattison-Sowden Beth Walker
12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413 PO Box 138 Chinchilla QLD 4413
Regular updates on www.suratbasin.com.au
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THE
The Surat Basin News is published by Chinchilla Newspapers Pty Ltd 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413
The early days ........................4-5 An enormous workforce........18
The Surat Basin News is printed by APN Print 50 Industrial Avenue Toowoomba
INDEX Condamine Power Station.......6 China stakes its claim ............19 The story of Curtis Island .......7 The protesters’ story.........20-21 BG Group makes its move.......8 Looking at water a new way .22 Locals get involved ...................9 A bird’s eye view ...............24-25 Project gains approval ...........10 The big day arrives.................26 Record-breaking pipeline......12 Boating to new business........27 The project’s social impact ...14 QGC joins festival fun ............28 Global deals are made ...........15
The only comprehensive voice dedicated to keeping our readers up to date with all the developments in this brilliant region.
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PAGE 2
THE
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
PROJECT DELIVERS GROWTH
H MAJOR MILESTONE: QGC managing director Mitch Ingram says the company is proud of achieving the world-first export of LNG.
MILESTONE ACHIEVED
WORLD FIRST FOR QGC YEARS OF EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING CULMINATE IN FIRST GAS EXPORT
O
N a clear summer day in December, 2014, QGC celebrated the loading of the first cargo of liquefied natural gas produced through its Queensland Curtis LNG project. The departure of the first vessel from Gladstone Harbour was the culmination of years of exploration, development, planning and construction to create the world’s first operation producing LNG sourced from natural gas in coal seams. This has been delivered with a strong focus on safety, community contribution and environmental management. We are proud of our achievements to date and thankful for the support from the communities and businesses were we live and work; and for the hard work of the many thousands of workers who have contributed to turning a vision into reality. In the last decade natural gas from Queensland coal seams has emerged as an abundant source at a time when there is an
increasing global demand for cleaner energy. BG Group acquired QGC in 2009 and the Queensland Curtis LNG project was sanctioned in late 2010. It has been an endeavour of an epic scale: ■ US $20.4 billion investment ■ 7 years in development ■ Over 4 years of construction ■ Employing 14,500 people at its peak in late 2013 ■ More than 2300 access and other agreements with landowners to date ■ Working across dozens of communities and multiple layers of government as well as hundreds of businesses. To date, more than 2000 wells have been drilled across 4,500 square kilometres of pastoral and agricultural land and forests. These wells feed into 17 field compression stations and 4 central processing plants along the journey to Curtis Island near Gladstone. Over the course of the project enough steel
pipe and gathering lines has been laid to reach almost from Queensland to London. This included the 540km, large diameter buried steel pipeline - the largest in Australia, which links the Surat Basin gas fields with a new LNG facility at Curtis Island. In an associated process, water extracted with the natural gas from underground is separated and processed through major water treatment facilities for the benefit of farmers and industry in the Western Downs. This year, additional wells and pieces of infrastructure required upstream will be complete with two more central processing plants and a second water treatment plant to come online. In the meantime, additional vessels travelling into Gladstone and out loaded with LNG cargo will continue to show this world first project is now becoming a sustainable world class operation. — Mitch Ingram, QGC Managing Director
Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
ERE in the regions of the Western Downs and Surat Basin, we have seen great benefits and opportunities from a strong and steady 10-year gas industry. The development of the QCLNG project has been a long-term project and, with the recent cargo tankers leaving Gladstone Harbour for the first gas export, it’s good to see the “well to wharf” process come to fruition. The QCLNG project has provided significant growth opportunities for our region, particularly in the resource, infrastructure and industry development sectors. The expansion of natural gas production in the Surat Basin has generated new job opportunities as well as stimulated long-term economic growth for our region. However, council also recognises the challenges associated with this expansion. This project provides a great opportunity to work alongside QGC to help our communities better manage the impacts of resource sector growth, and to provide a legacy of development that will last well into the future. The QCLNG project highlights how our regional communities and all levels of government can work in partnership with QGC to deliver outcomes that our region, state, national and international communities can be proud of. — Cr Ray Brown, Mayor, Western Downs Regional Council
PAGE 3
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
LEADING THE WAY
QCLNG WINS EXPORT RACE IN the final days of 2014, Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) became the world’s first project to turn gas from coal seams into liquefied natural gas, or LNG. The project, which has been under construction since 2010, is now exporting LNG to power some of the world’s biggest energy-consuming countries, including China and Japan. QCLNG has involved dozens of communities, hundreds of businesses and thousands of people drawn from throughout Queensland, the rest of Australia and internationally. The project involved expanding natural gas production in the Surat Basin to collect coal seam gas from thousands of wells. The gas is piped from the wells to processing plants before being sent down a 540km pipeline running from the Surat Basin to Curtis Island, near Gladstone. Once it reaches the island the gas is then cooled to convert it to LNG, ready to be loaded into massive cargo tankers for export. QCLNG is one of Australia’s largest capital infrastructure projects, requiring about $20 billion in investments between 2010-2014. It is one of three projects designed to export the Surat Basin’s CSG to the world, along with the Santos GLNG project and the Australia Pacific LNG project. They are on track to deliver “first gas” from mid-2015, by which time QCLNG gas will have already been powering homes and businesses on the other side of the world.
THE BIG PICTURE: This graphic explains the collection process of coal seam gas from the Surat Basin before it is piped to Curtis Island for export.
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QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
MAN WITH A PLAN
COTTEE STARTED IT ALL FORMER QGC EXECUTIVE HAD BOLD PLANS RIGHT FROM THE EARLY DAYS INDUSTRY commentators, former mayors, and QGC insiders all agree on one thing — the QCLNG project would not be where it is today had it not been for one man. Founded in 2000 as a junior explorer, Queensland Gas Company originally operated from a shed on Cooper Street, Chinchilla. In 2003 Richard Cottee joined the company as managing director and took it from an early stage explorer to a major unconventional gas supplier.
Even then, Mr Cottee could see the potential for the fledgling industry. He pictured coal seam gas being converted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be used to fuel heavy transport vehicles. This was achieved late in 2014 with the commissioning of BOC’s micro-LNG plant at QGC’s Condamine Power Station, near Miles. He pictured CSG being piped to the coast to be converted to LNG and exported to a global market. And, after more than 10 years, this was
achieved by QCLNG at the end of 2014. Mr Cottee moved to other projects when BG Group took control of QGC in November, 2008. In six years it had gone from a $16 million junior explorer to a $5.6 billion world-class coal seam gas company. Mr Cottee is now chief executive of Central Petroleum, and is making a bold move to supply east Australian manufactures with gas from the Northern Territory.
VISIONARY: Former QGC executive Richard Cottee had big plans for the company.
FORMER MAYOR WATCHES INDUSTRY GROW OVER A DECADE
W
HEN Queensland Gas Company began its fledgling operation on the Western Downs in the early 2000s, Roderick Gilmour was leading a struggling Murilla Shire Council. Mr Gilmour, now retired, was mayor of the council for 17 years. He said the first 13 or 14 years were about “trying to keep a little shire afloat”, but then the gas came along. While he admitted it was “pretty shaky” in the early years, Mr Gilmour said his confidence in Queensland Gas Company EARLY DAYS: Former mayor Roderick Gilmour (far and the coal seam gas industry grew stronger as the years went on. left) was there when QGC first came to town.
He said much of that was to do with then chief executive officer, Richard Cottee. “Richard, I think, showed enormous enterprise in getting it off the ground,” Mr Gilmour reflected this month. “It all came at a tremendous rush and we had to move fairly quickly to ensure standards and regulations were in place, particularly in relation to things like bores. “But I am fairly happy with the standards we set.” Mr Gilmour turned the first sod for the Condamine Power Station in 2007 and has watched the CSG industry’s phenomenal
Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
growth in recent years. He said it was “fantastic” to watch QGC achieve the world-first delivery of LNG for export late last year. “I was watching the LNG tanker on television as it was getting ready to leave the harbour, and the simple fact was that I was very excited,” Mr Gilmour said. “To see these huge developments, the employment it has created, it has given many rural people the chance for extra work. “I’ve just really enjoyed watching this area move forward over the years.”
PAGE 5
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
AN EARLY MILESTONE
STATION BREAKS GROUND
2007
T
HE string of world firsts for the QCLNG project began long before the historic first export of LNG from Curtis Island. The milestones began back in October, 2007, with the beginning of construction of Condamine Power Station between
Chinchilla and Miles. The station is 8km east of Miles on the south side of the Warrego Hwy and is the world’s first combined-cycle power station to run entirely on coal seam gas (CSG). Austrian Energy and Siemens signed a construction contract for the project, which
LIGHTING THE NIGHT: Condamine Power Station is the world’s first combined-cycle power station to run entirely on coal seam gas. PHOTO: Dan Proud
was completed in 2009. Constructed by power plant specialists AE&E Australia, the power station comprises two Siemens SGT-800 gas turbines, two AE&E heat recovery steam generators and one Siemens SST-400 steam turbine. Hot exhaust gases are captured from the gas turbines in order to generate steam. The steam then powers a steam turbine generator, producing additional electricity without the need for additional fuel. The power station also includes a cooling water system and a water treatment plant. Condamine Power Station operates 24 hours a day and produces a nominal 140MW of electricity to the grid. The chief attribute of the station is that it operates in combined-cycle power mode. It has the capacity and capability to generate electricity more efficiently than a coal-fired power station, while producing significantly less greenhouse gas emissions. This station is the first in Australia to use water obtained from the coal seam methane gas production process. Due to its high salinity, this water was previously considered a waste product, despite the scarcity of water in the region. The gas reserves are extracted from the Berwyndale South Gasfield located on “Windibri”, a 1600 hectare property 20km east of the township of Condamine. It is connected to the Roma to Brisbane gas pipeline and is also connected to the Braemar gas pipeline. The Columboola Switching Station, which connects the power station with the Chinchilla-to-Roma 132-kilovolt transmission line, was completed in October, 2008 before the entire project was completed the following year.
CLEANER FUEL PRODUCED IN THE BASIN
T
HE Western Downs hosted a Queensland first late in 2014 with the opening of a micro LNG plant that will convert coal seam gas from the Surat Basin into a cleaner, cheaper fuel. The $200 million plant located at Columboola - between Chinchilla and Miles - was opened by Premier Campbell Newman on behalf of BOC. BOC has entered into a long-term gas supply agreement with QGC in which QGC will supply gas collected in the Surat Basin, which BOC will then liquefy to produce liquid natural gas (LNG) for use on Australian soil in manufacturing, mining, and long-haul
trucking. The LNG could also be used as a cleaner source of power generation in remote communities. However, while BOC South Pacific managing director Colin Isaac said “many” jobs were created during construction of the plant, he said “only a few” jobs would be created for locals in the operation of the plant. Premier Campbell Newman said it was an example of how the resource-rich Surat Basin could be at the forefront of researching and developing more cost-effective and cleaner fuels. “Our state has vast energy resources, but
instead of just exporting those reserves I want Queenslanders to find new ways of developing cleaner and greener fuels,” Mr Newman said. “If just a fraction of our trucking firms, mines and farms switched to domestically-produced fuels, we would see more jobs for our kids and lower emissions too.” Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Ray Brown said the opening of the LNG plant was the “first step in an energy revolution” for the region. “This is all about value adding to a resource that’s already below our feet,” he said.
Premier Campbell Newman arrives at the new $200 million micro LNG plant near Chinchilla in a LNG-powered truck, greeted by BOC South Pacific managing director Colin Isaac.
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QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2008
BUSINESS IS CRUISING
A READY TO SHIP: The Methane Rita Andrea LNG tanker docks at QCLNG on Curtis Island in December, 2014. PHOTO: Mike Richards
ISLAND HOSTS HUGE PROJECTS
CURTIS ISLAND BOOMS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT BUILDING WORLD-CLASS HOME OF LNG PRODUCTION
W
HILE the first whisperings around liquefied natural gas came almost 10 years ago, Gladstone was put on the map in 2008 when it was announced as the home of LNG production. From then on the town boomed with this label as a globally significant LNG industry. The physical site began as a mangrove-surrounded inlet on the south-western side of Curtis Island in 2008, with parts of the Gladstone State Development Area being taken up with the pipelines that run hundreds of kilometres upstream to the source of the coal seam gas in the Surat Basin. By 2010 all three proponents – Australia Pacific LNG, Queensland Curtis LNG and Gladstone LNG – were on board and beginning offshore work. The idea was to transport the gas via the network of pipelines and liquefy it via a plant process that would see it stored in an LNG
tank before being transported to an LNG ship and exported for sale. The three proponents enlisted global construction giant Bechtel to build their plants, but each had variations in their plans. Over time the three learned to work together to get better outcomes during construction.
Essentially, each plant on Curtis Island has two “trains” made up of modules built in Asia and shipped to Gladstone, with two big storage tanks for holding the LNG before it is shipped. LNG trains are essentially big refrigerators that will take natural gas piped from the gas fields and condense it into liquid form. The last four years have been stacked full of construction milestones with the building of the trains and the tanks, with Bechtel and QCLNG hitting the big one last month, successfully processing the LNG and sending it off to the export market.
LTHOUGH business has slowed across Gladstone in 2015, AB Marine Services hasn’t stopped growing. It was one of the businesses in town that boomed when the LNG construction came along. Although there may be some downsizing, owner Adam Balkin is looking at his options. He started the business in 2008 on his own, and now has 12 vessels that undertake research, commercial or passenger transfer projects, and almost 20 staff. But he doubted that Gladstone would see another boom like that of the past five years. “We’ve seen the peak and we’re going back to the days when we first started,” he said. He said the company was already travelling throughout Queensland with some of its smaller vessels. “We will spread out but we will downsize as well,” he said. Mr Balkin took over Curtis Ferry Services and its two ferries, which could lead him into tourism. “We need to keep things rolling over. “There is probably going to be a move towards the Gladstone tourism industry,” he said.
Page 12 SEE STORY
Workers scrub the LNG tank down after it was filled with 94 million litres of seawater to test its integrity.
Record breaking pipeline
AB Marine services owner Adam Balkin made the most of the LNG boom at Gladstone.
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PAGE 7
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2008
GLOBAL ENERGY GIANT BOLDLY MOVES ON QGC CONFIDENCE IN COAL SEAM GAS INDUSTRY GROWS AFTER $4.8B TAKEOVER BY BG GROUP
THE jostling for the lion’s share of the burgeoning coal seam gas industry in the Surat Basin was at fever pitch in 2008. A few months prior to BG Group’s takeover of Queensland Gas Company, QGC had also made its own expansions. QGC successfully launched a $48 million takeover of Roma Petroleum, while entering into an agreement with major Roma shareholder, Oil Drilling & Exploration, to acquire its 19.16 per cent stake in the junior explorer. QGC also launched a separate friendly takeover of its LNG rival Sunshine Gas in August, 2008. The acquisitions placed it in a strong position in the Surat Basin at a time when exploration leases were the hottest tickets in town. Global Energy giants Shell and Petronas had secured deals with Arrow Energy and Santos respectively in the lead-up to the QGC acquisitions, while Australia's largest coal seam gas producer at the time, Origin Energy, knocked back a $13.6 billion offer from BG Group.
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was retained and existing assets across the Surat Basin continued to be developed and employees kept their jobs. At the time, QGC chairman Bob Bryan said the takeover represented the next phase in the company’s short but prosperous history. “While QGC’s deepening relationship with BG Group has been fruitful and positive, it has also clearly revealed the opportunity to create additional value through efficiencies from the integration of the two companies’ assets and skills under singlecompany ownership,” Mr Bryan said. “This offer represents a full and fair premium for QGC shareholders. “Given this, the voting directors have unanimously decided to recommend BG Group’s offer, which the board regards as an
excellent outcome for QGC’s many supporters.” QGC managing director Richard Cottee said BG Group’s unconditional all-cash offer was an attractive reward for QGC’s loyal shareholders. “We are tremendously proud of everything QGC has achieved in its maturation from junior explorer to a leader in the coal seam gas sector,” he said. “The technical expertise of our outstanding staff has underpinned that transformation, creating a lasting legacy of jobs, wealth and cleaner energy as part of our major contribution to the community. “I believe QGC will continue to rosper as BG Group expands on our vision of creating a worldclass energy facility in Queensland.”
EARLY FOUNDATIONS: Prior to the installation billions of dollars worth of infrastructure across Queensland, it was a boardroom deal that truly kickstarted the QCLNG project.
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LOCALS CASH IN ON FLURRY OF MERGERS IN BUSY YEAR
ESPITE the years of research and exploration on the ground in the years preceeding, it was a boardroom deal that really launched the colossal QCLNG project. In late October, 2008, British oil and gas giant BG Group made a calculated, $4.8 billion takeover bid on Queensland Gas Company – the firm that had started in a shed in Chinchilla just a few years earlier. BG Group offered $5.75 for each QGC share, which was recommended by the coal seam gas company. The share price offer was at an 80 per cent premium on Queensland Gas Company’s share price at the time. While BG Group took 100 per cent ownership of the Gladstone LNG project, QGC’s brand
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
SOUTH QLD SOILS FROM THE START
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has been another part of the economy that has helped to supplement the rural side through those tough times.” At the peak of the CSG industry’s construction phase, South Queensland Soils’ turnover had tripled. The company has now opened another branch in the north at Moranbah and is involved in projects right across the state. “Our company is owned by people who have been in this area more or less their whole lives,” Mr Hicks said. “To have been a part of this project has been great for us.”
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“The diversity of the population now as far as people from different nations has also grown, and I think that has certainly added to our community.” Mr Hicks said the energy industry’s growth in the Chinchilla region could be traced back to the construction of CS Energy’s $1.2 billion Kogan Creek Power Station and Kogan Mine in 2006, which required more than 1000 workers to complete the project. “Back then, we were in the middle of a drought,” he said. “That project helped the region through that period and now the coal seam gas industry
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IN THE LAB: Jordan Neuherz from South Queensland Soils testing samples in the lab.
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Ray Hicks was born and raised in Chinchilla.
Basin. South Queensland Soils was one of those small businesses there from the start more than a decade ago. Managing director Ray Hicks said his Chinchilla-based company was initially involved in soil testing at storage pond sites for QGC, which was later taken over by BG Group to start the massive QCLNG project. Back then, South Queensland soils had about 30 workers. The company’s workforce peaked at 130 two years ago, but still sits at about 90. “It has been good,” Mr Hicks said. “This is a big milestone and hopefully it will see a bit of a cash-flow injection into the region. “There has been a feeling that once the gas started going out of Gladstone the cash would flow again to kick-start the next phase.” Mr Hicks, who was born and raised in Chinchilla, said he had watched his hometown rapidly increase in population with the arrival of the QCLNG project. “It has certainly increased in size as well and I suppose there has been a lot of money made,” he said.
,,
THE delivery of liquefied natural gas to the cargo tanker Methane Rita Andrea at Curtis Island late last year was not just an achievement by QGC. It was also a significant milestone in what has been more than a 10-year journey for many residents and businesses in the Surat
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
PAGE 9
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
GREEN LIGHTS GET PROJECT UNDER WAY
2010
WHILE the QCLNG project had backers all around the world, and local companies lining up to be invovled, the project would not have even left the drawing board if it was not for key state and federal government approvals. The project received its Queensland Government approval in June, 2010, following the Queensland Coordintor General’s review of its social and environmental impact
STEADY PROGRESS: State and federal government approvals were key in the progression of the QCLNG project.
statement (EIS). The approval, which included conditions under which the project could proceed, covered an expansion of QGC’s existing coal seam gas operations in the Surat Basin; development of the 540km underground pipeline network; and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Curtis Island, near Gladstone. The EIS, which set out potential social and environmental impacts as well as identifying strategies to maximise benefits and mitigate impacts, was prepared by QGC over two years from detailed studies and direct consultation with more than 1000 stakeholders across the project area. Federal Government approval followed a few months later, before BG Group took its final investment decision in October, 2010, approving the beginning of the first phase of the massive QCLNG project. QGC managing director Catherine Tanna said government approvals were important stepts in the project’s life.
“It follows a rigorous assessment process involving comprehensive scientific environmental studies, 40 public submissions and discussions with hundreds of stakeholders, including individuals, landholders, indigenous and conservation groups, industry bodies, regional councils and government agencies,” Ms Tanna said. “Our focus is on developing QCLNG in partnership with communities and government to ensure that the project is environmentally acceptable and benefits as many of our stakeholders as possible,” Ms Tanna said. The multi-billion-dollar QCLNG Project will have an initial production capacity of 8.5 million tonnes of LNG a year with export sales commencing from late 2014, underpinned by agreements with China, Japan, Singapore and Chile. It is estimated QCLNG will generate $32 billion in value-added activity for Queensland in its first decade to 2021.
HEQ GROWS ALONGSIDE INDUSTRY F
DALBY BUSINESS PRIDES ITSELF ON EMPLOYING LOCALS
AMILY owned business HEQ Services knows what it takes to keep up with the fast-paced coal seam gas industry. Starting out in 2009 at Dalby, the business initially specialised in diesel fitting but has now grown to also offer auto electricians, boiler makers, crane hire and labour hire. Director Francine Burke said it had been incredibly rewarding to watch a business that started with just four staff now employ 49 people across its diesel maintenance, crane hire, and labour hire divisions. Mrs Burke said the company had initially been involved with the coal industry servicing the Wilkie Creek, Tarong, and New Acland mines, but that it diversified to enter the coal seam gas industry when coal “quietened down”. Demand for diesel fitters, boiler makers and cranes quickly grew during the CSG construction phase and HEQ became involved by working for contractors on site during that fast-paced period. “It was a long process to get into the CSG industry, but we are now accredited by ISO
Water Treatment Plant and field compression stations. “We’re absolutely proud that we’ve been part standards,” Mrs Burke explained. HEQ has worked on every major “We have been learning the whole time but it construction job on the QCLNG project in the of the (QCLNG) project,” Mrs Burke said. “It has been one huge team effort and we has absolutely been good for our business.” Surat Basin region, including the Kenya have been part of that.” Engineering manager Jason White said the company was now working hard to become more involved in the long-term maintenance projects of the industry’s operations phase and that it had already expanded to open a new branch at Roma. Staff were also working in the Moranbah region on Arrow Energy’s CSG project. HEQ will now look to open a third branch this year in the Northern Territory. Mrs Burke said the business prided itself on employing local staff and training workers in the niche areas required to work on the CSG industry. “Most of our guys have been with us since day one,” she said. “They really become part of the family, part NEW TERRITORY: HEQ Dalby engineering manager Jason White and director Francine Burke have watched their of the furniture here.” business grow with the QCLNG project.
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PAGE 11
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2010
RECORD-BREAKING PIPELINE
MASSIVE PIPELINE LINKS BASIN TO THE WORLD QCLNG PIPELINE CREATES MORE THAN 1500 JOBS ACROSS QUEENSLAND
I
BIG JOB: More than 1500 workers were required to build the 540km QCLNG pipeline.
N late November, 2010, the early foundations were laid for what would be Australia’s longest large-diameter buried pipeline. McConnell Dowell Constructors and Consolidated Contractors Company Australia, or MCJV as the joint venture was called, was appointed to undertake the massive task. The 540km pipeline runs about 200km from Dalby to Wandoan and more than 340km from the gas fields to Curtis Island. Facilities north of Miles and on Curtis Island regulate gas flow through the pipeline. The one-metre diameter pipeline transports coal seam gas from the Surat Basin to Curtis Island, where it is converted to liquefied natural gas for export. The project required a workforce of more than 1575 at peak construction, for a total of 12 million working hours. Construction was completed in October, 2013, with the final sections laid near Biloela. In December, 2014, it was announced that Australia’s largest gas infrastructure business, APA Group, would pay $5 billion to purchase the QCLNG pipeline from BG Group.
Andrew Gould, interim executive chairman of BG Group, said the company was pleased to have struck a deal with a “bidder the calibre of APA Group”. “The sale of the QCLNG pipeline is in line with our strategy to focus on BG Group’s core areas of oil and gas exploration and production and LNG,” Mr Gould said.
Pipeline facts ■ 46,200 individual 12m lengths, each of four tonnes ■ 1147 crossings of creeks, roads, access tracks, railway lines and third-party utilities and passing through 580 fences ■ Project vehicles travelled more than 44 million kilometres ■ Buried with between 0.75m and 1.5m of cover, depending on terrain and land use ■ Remotely activated valves at least every 90km for shutdowns ■ Operation constantly monitored from QGC's Chinchilla operations centre
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
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QCLNG - A WORLD FIRST
BUILDING A PIPELINE, STEP BY STEP... 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Survey Detailed engineering, environmental and cultural surveys are conducted to determine the most suitable construction techniques. 2 - Clear and grade easement A 40m easement is cleared and graded along the pipeline route. 3 - Stringing and bending The 1m (42 inch) steel pipes are hauled by truck to the easement. The pipes are laid end-to-end. The pipe can be bent using specialised equipment to match changes in terrain or direction in route. 4 - Welding and ultrasonic testing The pipe is welded above ground. All the welds are subject to ultrasonic testing to ensure they meet Australian and international standards. 5 - Weld joint coating Each weld is grit blasted and covered with a protective coating to prevent corrosion and protect against mechanical impacts. 6 - Pre-trenching A trench is dug for the pipeline. As part of the fauna management program, the trench is monitored and soil ramps are built to enable animals to exit the trench easily. 7 - Lowering in Side boom tractors are used to lower the welded pipe into the trench. About one kilometre of pipe is lowered into the trench at a time. 8 - Tie-ins A tie-in is when two lowered-in pipe strings are welded together in the trench. 9 - Padding and backfilling Fine soil is placed around the pipe in the trench to act as padding, protecting the pipeline. After padding is completed the trench is backfilled and compacted with the subsoil and the original topsoil. 10 - Pressure testing The integrity of the pipeline is further verified using hydrostatic testing in accordance with Australian Standard 2885 (AS2885). The pipeline is capped with test manifolds and water is pumped in to a pressure higher than the maximum allowable operating gas pressure. 11 - Reinstatement The easement is restored to its original state as much as possible. Where required, erosion control mechanisms are constructed and additional topsoil is spread to encourage soil retention and vegetation growth. 12 - Signage As a safety measure, signs are erected to warn of the location of the buried pipeline.
2010
COMING TO AN END: The last of the QCLNG pipeline is lowered near Biloela.
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
PAGE 13
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2011
BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL
FUND DELIVERS $6M TO COMMUNITY GROUPS N
A HELPING HAND: Inspecting plans at the Middle St site are (from left) QGC's Brett Smith and Jane Roberts, Councillor Carolyn Tillman, Doreen Goldsmid and Communities Minister Tracy Davis.
OT-for-profit and community groups were given their chance to benefit from the booming coal seam gas industry when QGC launched its Sustainable Communities Fund at the beginning of 2011. QGC contributed $6 million to the fund in the four years following the launch of the program, with the community dictating how it wanted funds to be spent through the operation of a grants scheme. Managing director at the time of the launch, Catherine Tanna, said the fund was an important element of QGC’s Sustainable Communities Program which incorporated a range of community consultation and investment activities. Ms Tanna said the QGC Sustainable Communities Fund would give people in the company’s area of operations a direct say in how QGC invested in the community. “QGC is committed to ensuring that our neighbours benefit from our presence. “That involves working closely with communities on initiatives to mitigate any impact our project work may have and to make a positive contribution where we can.” At Chinchilla, the area’s Family Support Centre directly benefited from QGC input.
Community services in the town were significantly upgraded with a new multi-tenant service centre, funded by QGC and the Queensland Government. The brand new Murilla St centre enabled the Chinchilla Family Support Centre to expand its community services and provide office space and meeting rooms for mobile support agencies visiting the town. QGC contributed $1 million to its construction, which finished early in 2015. The partnership between QGC and the State Government is the first of its kind to deliver a regional community centre. The government bought the land, built the centre and will manage leasing, and QGC will support the centre’s community steering committee. QGC vice president sustainability Brett Smith said investment in the project reaffirmed QGC’s commitment to improving the capacity of community services during significant growth in the Western Downs. “QGC is contributing to the growth and long-term sustainability of towns like Chinchilla where we are based and proud to be members of the community,” Mr Smith said.
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QCLNG POWERS JAPAN
2011
MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR DEALS SEALED TO PROVIDE JAPAN WITH SURAT BASIN LNG FOR 20 YEARS .
B
ILLION dollar deals were the order of the day in 2011, with QGC signing long-term contracts to supply LNG to
Japan. In March, 2011, QGC signed a 20-year sales contract with Tokyo Gas for 1.2 tonnes of LNG per year. Then, just two months later, the company signed a significant sales and purchase agreement with Chubu Electric Power Co for the long-term supply of LNG. The Tokyo Gas agreement was the first fully
termed sales agreement to supply Japan — the world’s biggest importer of LNG — with LNG sourced from coal seam gas. BG Group chief executive Frank Chapman said Tokyo Gas was a foundation customer for the ground-breaking QCLNG project. “With these agreements we will bring a new source of natural gas to Japan – the largest LNG market – and advance the long and rewarding relationship between our companies,” he said. The huge deal with Chubu Electric would see
With these agreements we will bring a new source of natural gas to Japan — Frank Chapman the company purchase 122 cargoes of LNG over 21 years. BG Group executive director Martin Houston said it was significant to have secured a deal with Chubu Electric, one of the most experienced buyers of LNG in the world.
IT WAS a year of big deals and big achievements for the QCLNG project. By the end of 2011, QGC had spent more than $5 billion on the project with more than 70% of that spent in Australia. More than 4300 people were working for QGC and the QCLNG project — with 2011 being just the first year of its construction. About $3.7 billion had been spent with Australian firms for goods and services, and nearly $1 billion on local infrastructure such as roads and airports. The Western Downs region between Toowoomba and Roma was the largest recipient of spending with more than $230 million, followed by the Banana-Gladstone-Rockhampton region with more than $191 million.
A BIG DEAL: Executives from QGC and Chubu Electric Power Co celebrate a deal that will see LNG from the Surat Basin exported to Japan for 20 years.
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
CRUCIAL CONTRACTORS TRANSFIELD AND EASTERNWELL EMPLOY HUNDREDS OF WORKERS FOR QCLNG PROJECT
T
RANSFIELD Services is playing a pivotal role in the delivery of gas for supply to Queensland and international export as part of QGC’s landmark Queensland Curtis LNG project. The company employees more than 380 people as part of its consolidated services provider contract with QGC. The team delivers critical operations and maintenance services, together with brownfield construction services to QGC’s well site assets spread far and wide across the Surat Basin. Transfield Services’ wholly owned subsidiary Easternwell – a Queensland born and bred company – also supplies and operates six well servicing rigs and one tight gas drilling rig, together with associated camp management facilities as part of the project. In total they have 275 people working with QGC. “We are very proud of the trusting and productive relationship we’ve established with QGC,” Transfield Services chief executive resources and industrials Joe Sofra said. “Our values, particularly around safety and operating standards, are closely aligned.
.
“We’re unique in the sense we can deliver integrated services across the entire coal seam gas to LNG supply chain Transfield Services chief executive resources and industrials” Joe Sofra There is no doubt this has been key to our success.” Easternwell’s deep rooted experience working in remote Queensland locations was also a contributing factor. “Easternwell was a pioneer in coal seam gas (CSG) back in the 90s, having developed its own rig technology specific for Australia’s operational, environmental and legislative conditions,” Mr Sofra said. “It knows Queensland especially well, having established great relationships with regional communities through local employment opportunities and its Community Grants Program, which has donated tens of
thousands of dollars to communities across the Surat Basin.” “Transfield Services believes it has a responsibility to support the local communities where its works, be it through local employment, Indigenous participation, looking after the natural environment or simply supporting local community initiatives. “Together with safety, community engagement and looking after the environment are part of developing our licence to operate, particularly given the geographic spread of our upstream work across the Surat Basin.” While upstream is the focus of Transfield Services’ existing work with QGC, the company’s capabilities extend well beyond. Transfield Services is a pioneer of industrial scale asset management in Australia. It’s adept in delivering operations and maintenance services to LNG plants, just like those currently being constructed in Gladstone. It also has asset design capability through its subsidiary ICD, is highly experienced in facilities management, and owns a specialist project management Company in APP.
An Iron Roughneck operated by Easternwell workers.
PROJECT LEADS TO NEW GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRT
L
EADING Australian infrastructure firm Global Road Technology (GRT) is one of many businesses worldwide celebrating the first successful shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) departing Queensland’s Curtis Island plant near Gladstone. GRT’s work on the $20 billion Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) saw the firm focus on providing infrastructure solutions to QGC, Western Downs Regional Council and private landholders across the Surat Basin. Its brief was to work with these stakeholders using its range of environmentally friendly soil stabilisation Global Road Technologies has been heavily involved and dust suppression “in-situ” materials to with upgrading and maintaining the road network used minimise the impact of mining and road by the QCLNG project.
building on the region’s communities, while delivering infrastructure cost effectively. GRT chief financial officer Herman Allison credited their work on the QCLNG project in providing the firm a template for its worldwide expansion. “Since beginning our section of the work required to deliver this massive project, GRT has expanded our business from a purely Queensland focussed entity to a company with operations spanning across Australia and the globe,” Mr Allison said. “We have been able to showcase the work we undertook using our “in-situ” materials to provide environmentally friendly infrastructure solutions that satisfied the stringent requirements of three separate
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stakeholders – QGC, the Western Downs Council and importantly, the private landholders whose properties we often worked on or close to. “Our success in delivering positive outcomes for these parties have seen us subsequently grow our business worldwide with projects spanning multiple continents and a workforce that has expanded exponentially.” GRT worked to deliver both improved infrastructure for the community in the Western Downs region in addition to the creation of mining access roads – with the aim of providing the minimum possible disruption to peoples lives and the environment in the region.
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
.P2I I2. 2FR PAGE 17
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2012
JOBS BOOM
CSG INDUSTRY HELPS YOUTH STAY IN TOWN
BOOM TOWN: Chinchilla local Thea Bradford stayed in Chinchilla after finishing school to work in the gas industry.
THE coal seam gas industry’s construction phase was in full swing in 2012 and many locals across the Surat Basin were tapping in to a huge new employment market. The number of people working with QGC and its QCLNG project skyrocketed to almost 9000 in late 2012, meaning the workforce had almost doubled in a 12-month period. Importantly, however, there was a huge number of young people able to gain employment on the project. The figures were outlined in the CSIRO report – Impacts of Unconventional Gas Development on Rural Community Decline.The report explored the youth population, education attainment and poverty reduction in Surat and Bowen basin “boom towns” with considerable CSG development. It placed special attention on statistics from Chinchilla. The paper found that 20–24-year-old people had increasingly opted to stay in or move to Chinchilla between 2006–2011, bucking trends of declining youth populations in rural regions worldwide. This age group increased in population by 46% during the six-year period in Chinchilla.
A notable increase was also recorded in the wider Surat and Bowen basins. Chinchilla local and QGC administration officer Thea Bradford said finding work within the gas industry was an obvious choice for local youth. “In 2007, when I graduated, the industry just seemed to take off,” she said. “It was obvious there were going to be more opportunities around. “It’s convenient, it’s a great work environment and there are opportunities to progress that other jobs don’t have here.” While Thea chose to complete a Bachelor of Business before gaining employment, statistics from the report showed an overall decline in university degrees for youths in the region. Instead, they highlighted an increase in certificate level (trade) qualifications from 2001 to 2011 for 20–24 year old males and females. By the end of 2012, QGC had invested more than $11 billion in the QCLNG project. More than 90,600 businesses had registered their interest in doing business with QGC with almost 29,000 expressions of interest in just the second half of 2012.
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2012-2013
THIESS TO BUILD CRITICAL GAS HUBS ON PROJECT
C
ONSTRUCTION company Thiess cemented its significant foothold in the coal seam gas industry with the signing of a $1.8 billion contract with QGC in 2013. The landmark contract would see Thiess carry out the construction of gas compression facilities and associated works for the QCLNG project in the Surat Basin. The contract significantly expanded Thiess’ role in the project which also included construction of all 18 field compressor stations and four central processing plants. Thiess managing director Bruce Munro paid tribute to the relationship between Thiess and QCLNG. “Thiess is proud of the strength of that relationship and the value we bring to the QCLNG project through the depth of our
expertise in LNG and our ability to manage the logistics of this contract over such a vast geographical area,” he said. Thiess was contracted to produce major facilities near Dalby, Chinchilla and Wandoan, which would process gas which to be transported through the 540km pipeline network to Gladstone. QCLNG project director Mitch Ingram said QGC and Thiess were proud to be creating a further 1600 jobs as well as providing opportunities for local communities to benefit wherever possible. “This is a milestone contract which involves construction of the remaining gas processing facilities to have our LNG plant operating at capacity,” Mr Ingram said. “More broadly this work will provide opportunities for qualified local contractors to supply associated services, which strengthens local industry.”
DONE DEAL: BG Group’s Cris Finlayson (right) celebrates the signing of the deal with CNOOC.
CHINA TAKES LNG QGC SECURES DEAL TO EXPORT SURAT BASIN LNG TO CHINA
T
BIG CONTRACT: Thiess employed thousands of workers like Shauna Burgess as a result of contracts with the CSG industry.
HE China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) increased its stake in Queensland’s coal seam gas industry in May, 2013, with a $1.93 billion transaction with QGC. The deal would see QGC become the largest supplier of LNG to China. Agreements were signed with CNOOC for the sale of certain interests in the QCLNG project in Australia and for the supply of an additional 5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China. BG Group’s Cris Finlayson said the agreements extended the company’s “strong relationship” with CNOOC. “It spans not only LNG but also exploration offshore at China and production in the UK
Continental Shelf through participation in the large Buzzard oil field. “As a foundation partner in QCLNG, CNOOC was among the first to recognise the value and importance of this world-first project. “Combined with the 3.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) LNG sale agreement signed with CNOOC in 2010, BG Group now has total committed volumes to China of 8.6 mtpa which will make the Group the largest supplier of LNG to the world’s fastest growing energy market. “More broadly, the agreements expand our strong LNG position in the Asia-Pacific region...where we have signed long-term LNG sales contracts with customers in China, Japan and India.”
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PAGE 19
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
Broadcaster Alan Jones has voiced concerns about the CSG industry.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Activist, academic, campaigner and Lock the Gate Alliance founder Drew Hutton says the CSG industry is “absolutely not” something that should be celebrated.
Protesters have found many ways to attract attention.
‘DON’T CELEBRATE CSG’: HUTTON VETERAN ACTIVIST AND LOCK THE GATE FOUNDER SENDS OMINOUS WARNING TO QUEENSLAND LANDHOLDERS
THE coal seam gas industry has injected billions of dollars into the Queensland economy, but some residents believe the potential damage it might cause far outweighs any financial gains. Founder of The Greens and lifetime protester, Drew Hutton, has fought the development of the CSG industry right from the start. Mr Hutton was pivotal in the formation of the Lock The Gate movement and has played a key role in organising protests and campaigns from the Surat Basin right down the east coast of Australia. He said the milestone of the first export of
LNG by QCLNG was “absolutely not” something that should be celebrated. “Over the last three years I think we’ve seen the best impact the CSG industry was going to have,” Mr Hutton said. “From now on, it only gets worse.” Mr Hutton said as the industry’s construction phase transitioned to its operations phase, employment and business opportunities would “diminish sharply”. “The drop in the international oil price will mean the companies get far less for their gas, and consequently the Queensland Government gets far less in terms of royalties.
“Many people in the Surat Basin will be collateral damage for an industry which is largely foreign-owned and where the profits largely go offshore.” Mr Hutton lamented the fact that his fight against CSG in Queensland “began too late”. Lock The Gate was not up and running until October, 2010 — months after the QCLNG, Santos GLNG, and Australia Pacific LNG projects had already received government approvals. But he said it was a different story in New South Wales where the protest movement was gaining traction. “In New South Wales we’ve got in ahead of
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the game,” he said. “In many cases people in NSW could say, ‘we know what’s going on in Queensland and we don’t want that to happen here. “It’s extremely sad for Queensland, but at least it can be used as an example for those in New South Wales.” Mr Hutton claimed landowners across Queensland would be “forced to walk off their properties” in the next 20 years. “There will be no water left,” he said. “The make-good agreements with water will not be worth the paper they are written on because there will be no underground water left to give back to them.”
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
SURF'S UP: Musician Ash Grunwald paddles the Condamine on his surf board during a protest event near Wiembilla. Dayne Pratsky, Larissa Waters, Narelle and Scott Collins and Drew Hutton rally together at a protest concert near Wiembilla on the Western Downs in 2013.
PROTEST MOVEMENT
ACTIVISTS RALLY AGAINST INDUSTRY PROTEST BATTLEFIELD SHIFTS FROM THE WESTERN DOWNS IN QUEENSLAND, SOUTH TO NEW SOUTH WALES THE protesting and activism against the coal seam gas industry attracted national headlines in 2013 when musicians and cultural icons flocked to a property near Tara for a huge protest concert. A week of anti-CSG action, including blockades and a protest outside a QGC asset on Van Renans Rd, preceeded the concert at Wiembilla. Protestor numbers grew from 50 to 200 as activists arrived at the property on Old Tara Rd by bus, car or camper van. Dozens of artists, including blues musician Ash Grunwald and the Winsome Gospel Choir, performed songs about capitalist greed, environmentalism and the bubbles in the Condamine River, while Aussie stand-up comedian Steady Eddy cracked jokes for the crowd.
Between performances, Greens Senator Larissa Waters, MP Jeremy Buckingham, Lock the Gate Alliance president Drew Hutton and farmers spoke in opposition to CSG, which they described as an insidious and dangerous industry. “Here in Tara they have built a gas field over the top of a residential estate,” Mr Hutton said. “They need to face up to it and go around it, or admit they made a mistake and buy out the land at a genuine price, that lets them relocate without downgrading their lifestyle.” Blues musician and environmental activist Ash Grunwald ended the official celebrations by donning a wetsuit and a gas mask, picking up his surfboard swimming the Condamine river to draw attention to the cause.
When speaking to Surat Basin News in 2015, Mr Hutton admitted those early protests had not succeeded. “They’ve clearly failed, although some landowners have been bought out,” he said. “But I think that many other landowners who didn’t initially resist the CSG invasion will begin to do so when they realise what it means for their properties.” Protest organiser and Tara landholder Dayne Pratsky was one of several residents to move away from the area after QGC “bought out” several of the properties impacted by its operations in 2014. Those who were bought out were prevented from discussing the details due to confidentiality clauses, but many residents remain in the area and continue to protest against the CSG industry surrounding them.
The anti-CSG movement is gaining traction in New South Wales.
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
PAGE 21
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
WATER FOR FARMERS
KENYA PLANT MAKES IT RAIN .
Manager of field operations for water, Angus Hetherington, at the $1 billion treatment plant.
AERIAL VIEW: QGC's Kenya Water Treatment Plant, south of Chinchilla.
THE Kenya Water Treatment Plant, 35km south-west of Chinchilla, is the most visible sign of QGC’s $1 billion investment in water infrastructure in the Surat Basin. It has the capacity to treat 92 mega litres of water a day at full production. Speaking in front of about 100 people at the opening of the plant in October, 2013, Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said he had “always acknowledged CSG water as a valuable by-product, not a problem”. The Kenya Water Treatment Plant purifies water that generally would otherwise not be available for crops or drinking because it is too salty. The water, which is contained in coal seams, is produced with natural gas. The $1 billion plant can treat the equivalent water of that used by about 25 average-size irrigated vegetable farms. Treated coal seam gas water is pumped into Chinchilla’s drinking water supply, while the scheme also provides water to about 15 landholders for irrigation. BG Australia chairwoman Catherine Tanna said the plant demonstrated QGC’s commitment to working with agriculture and local communities. “We are delighted to help shore up supplies
I’ve always acknowledged CSG water as a by-product, not a problem. — Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney
for town consumption and to help landholders to grow crops,” Ms Tanna said. The plant was built by a consortium of GE Power and Water and Laing O’Rourke Construction, and involved about 250 people at peak construction. Laing O’Rourke built the plant and GE provided technical expertise and process equipment, including advanced ultra-filtration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis and brine concentration technology. About 25 people operate the plant, which is run and maintained by Veolia Water Australia as part of a 20-year, $800 million contract. Associated infrastructure includes a 33-megawatt gas-fired power plant to run the reverse osmosis process, and ponds and pipelines related to the process. SunWater built and operates a 20km pipeline that transports treated water from the plant to landholders and Chinchilla Weir.
CSG WATER BOOSTS FARM PRODUCTION
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OPELAND farmers like Greg Bender have transformed their properties in recent years, turning what was once dry-land cropping country into fully-irrigated paddocks. Mr Bender was one of about 15 farmers in the area who signed contracts with QGC in 2013 to use water from the company’s Kenya Water Treatment Plant, just south of Chinchilla. The water is provided to the farmers as part of the QGC’s Beneficial Use Agreement to recycle treated coal seam gas water. While there have been problems with farmers not consistently receiving the amount of water that was promised to them, Mr Bender said the situation was
continuing to improve. He said he now received about 250 mega litres of water from the scheme each month, which had resulted in an almost 150% increase in his cropping production.
Greg and Maryann Bender are enjoying new irrigation opportunities.
“It has been a great asset over this dry summer,” Mr Bender said. “It has made a big difference because it gives us options with forward selling and it provides a bit more security.” Mr Bender said he had been more inclined to plant winter crops as a result of the irrigation water, meaning he has a reliable income stream throughout the year. “Turnover has more than doubled as a result of it,” he said. “I always thought it was too good an opportunity not to have a go at it, and it’s been pretty good for us.” Farmers were required to fund and install their own water infrastructure upgrades, however they are charged for the water only at flood harvesting rates.
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Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
PAGE 23
QCLNG - A WORLD FIRST
A QCLNG snapshot â&#x20AC;&#x201C; looking at the industry Time
13 hours
It will take about 13 hours to fill a ship with LNG. In full production it is expected there will be 2-3 shiploads leaving the Gladstone harbour each week.
Pipeline
540km
The pipeline between the Surat Basin and Curtis Island is 540km long.
Temperature
-162 degrees
The gas is cooled to -162 degrees. At that temperature the gas transforms into liquid.
Cost
$20 billion
The QCLNG project has represented an investment of about $20 billion by BG Group.
Export
10 million tonnes
QCLNG is committed to supplying 10 million tonnes of LNG to China, Japan, Singapore and Chile each year.
Wells
6000
QGC expects to drill about 6000 wells over 4500sq km of tenements by 2030. Each costs about $1 million to drill.
Shipload
140,000 tonnes
One shipload contains about 140,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the same volume as each tank.
Time
32 hours
It takes about 32 hours for one molecule of gas to travel from the Surat Basin to Curtis Island.
Social impact
$150 million
The QCLNG social impact management plan has so far seen more than $150 million invested in local communities
PAGE 24
Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
FACES AND PLACES QCLNG - A WORLD FIRST
THE QCLNG plant on Curtis Island has already delivered its first shipments of liquefied natural gas for export.
Surat Basin NEWS Thursday 29 January 2015
PAGE 25
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
2014
GOAL REACHED
FIRST SHIPS LEAVE WITH LNG FOR THE WORLD
THE first cargos of liquefied natural gas from the Surat Basin have been loaded into massive LNG tankers and exported to power the world. The delivery of LNG to the cargo tanker for export was a world first, achieved by Queensland Curtis LNG, and was the culmination of a $20 billion dollar investment. QCLNG is the world’s first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant’s first LNG train was the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island. Interim executive chairman Andrew Gould described the milestone as an “immense achievement”. “The start-up of QCLNG is testament to the hard work, skill and dedication of all our employees, partners and customers including the thousands of individuals who have been involved in physically building the plant,” Mr Gould said. “The ongoing support from both the State Government of Queensland and the local councils of our upstream region and in Gladstone has also been pivotal in this development. OFF SHE GOES: The Methane Rita Andrea was the first cargo tanker to depart Gladstone Harbour with a load of “We thank them all.” LNG.
A small crowd gathers to watch the departure of the Methane Rita Andrea on January 5. The project will expand further with the start-up of the second train in the third quarter of 2015. At plateau production, expected during 2016, QCLNG will have an output of around eight million tonnes of LNG a year. The first cargo tanker loaded with LNG, the Methane Rita Andrea, departed Gladstone harbour about 3pm on January 5, bound for Singapore.
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PAGE 26
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QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
TUGS PACK A PUNCH
2015
LNG EXPORTING HELPS POWER TUG BUSINESS THE scale of the export operation run by QCLNG at Gladstone Harbour has led to flow-on benefits to a wide range of industries. For Smit Lamnalco — a cargo tanker towage and related services provider — it has meant upgrading with some shiny new tugs for its Gladstone fleet. Tugs are required to help manoeuvre the giant LNG tankers to the precise locations required for them to dock to load up with LNG. The arrival of the new tug, the SL Curtis Island, marked the growth of Smit Lamnalco’s Gladstone branch to one of the company’s biggest tug operations in the
.
When a new vessel comes in it’s exciting. — Fred Rutgers
Asia-Pacific region. General manager Fred Rutgers said once the fifth LNG tug arrived by June, the Australian operation would have 11 vessels in its fleet. The tugs have been graced with a new home at the Gladstone Ports Corporation’s RG Tanna terminal. “This location is close to Curtis Island, where the LNG operations are, it’s close to the main coal terminal here and the Wiggins Island terminal, so it’s a good central location in the port,” he said. The space has its own workshop, a 110,000 litre fuel tank and three floating pontoons for four tugs at each berth. Smit Lamnalco leases the land from the GPC and operates the tugs under an exclusive licence in the port. “The technical life of a tug is 20 years, so we hope to still be here for a number of years,” Mr Rutgers said. Smit Lamnalco general manager Fred Rutgers and vessel He said his crew had worked hard to prepare manager Phil Immoos are excited about the opportunities for the first LNG vessel requiring assistance into the harbour. the LNG export industry will bring.
POWERFUL TUG: The SL Curtis Island LNG tugboat will help guide the massive LNG tankers around Gladstone Harbour. “When a new vessel comes in it’s exciting and these types of tugs, this size and quality, you don’t see them often,” he said. Smit Lamnalco vessel manager Phil Immoos said the ‘island class’ of tugs was of exceptional quality. “It’s a different mode of operation for the
masters,” he said. “The thrusters are like a massive old billiard and you can turn it around 360 degrees to give you any directional thrust – you can walk the vessel sideways. “These are specifically designed to be able to do this.” '&#%!$$""
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PAGE 27
QCLNG – A WORLD FIRST
QGC CONTINUES SUPPORT OF FAMOUS MELON FESTIVAL
MAKE YOUR MELONS MELON enthusiasts and Western Downs community organisations have a chance to win through the inaugural QGC Melonheads competition, celebrating the 2015 Chinchilla Melon Festival. QGC is a long-term major sponsor of the fun-filled biennial event and in line with this year’s festival is running an online competition to find the most creatively decorated watermelon look-alike. The winner, voted for in an online poll by the community, will receive a $2000 donation towards their chosen Western Downs community organisation, plus a $1000 voucher from Betta Home Living Chinchilla. To enter, decorate a watermelon to look like a head. It could be anything - a movie character, an effigy of someone you know, or a famous person, or just a silly creature. Take a photograph of your melonhead and give it a name, then follow the links to enter at www.qgcmelonheads.com.au. ALL SMILES: Mel the QGC melon with Frances Purves from Betta Home As part of your entry, nominate a Western Downs community Living Chinchilla. organisation and include a short explanation about what makes your chosen organisation great. Make sure you check the site regularly to see how your entry is performing in the online poll and “like” QGC’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/QGCinfo and follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/QGCInfo to see Melonhead highlights. The sooner you enter, the more time you will have to accrue votes, so get involved now, grab a melon and get creative. The competition closes at 3pm on February 13, and the winner will be presented their prize by musician Dean Ray of X Factor Australia notoriety at the Chinchilla Melon Festival Family Concert on the evening of February 14. Visit www.qgcmelonheads.com.au for entry details and to read the terms and conditions. Under-18s can enter with the permission of a parent or guardian. Mel the QGC melon visits Heeney St, Chinchilla, ahead of the world-famous Visit www.melonfest.com.au for more on the festival. Melon Festival.
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SURAT BASIN NEWS Published by Chinchilla Newspapers Pty Ltd, 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413 Printed by APN Print Toowoomba 50 Industrial Avenue Toowoomba Q4350 2013 General Manager – Erika Brayshaw 12 Mayne Street Chinchilla Q4413 PO Box 138 Chinchilla Q4413 Phone 07 4662 7368