Santos wins Queensland environmental approval for GNLG project
Published: 04:19 28 May 2010 EDT
Santos (ASX: STO) has reported that Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) today became Australia’s first major coal seam gas to LNG project to receive its environmental approval from the Queensland government.
The approval is for 2,650 wells, a 435-km pipeline and 3 trains on Curtis Island, located off Gladstone, Queensland.
The GLNG project is a joint venture between Australia’s largest domestic gas producer, Santos, and Malaysia’s national oil and gas company, PETRONAS, the world’s second largest LNG exporter.
The environmental approval follows review of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the Queensland Coordinator-General. The review involved widespread community consultation.
The company said the environmental approval process will now continue with Federal Government consideration of the project.
The Queensland Government approval covers the development of coal seam gas resources in the Bowen and Surat Basins around Roma, construction of a pipeline from the gas fields to the coast, and construction of up to three processing trains at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and export facility on Curtis Island.
Rick Wilkinson, president GLNG and Queensland, said approval of the EIS by the Queensland Government was a significant milestone for GLNG as the project builds momentum towards a final investment decision this year.
“We acknowledge the Queensland Government’s foresight in encouraging the development of the coal seam gas-to-LNG industry. An industry which promises billions of dollars of investment and the creation of thousands of jobs,” Wilkinson said.
“As our EIS submission outlined, we are committed to implementing comprehensive environmental management plans and are supportive of the conditions outlined by the Coordinator-General."
“We will work with the Government and the communities involved to deliver an outcome which will provide massive benefits in terms of jobs, regional development and export income for the nation,” he added.
The company said GLNG will create about 5,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent operational jobs when the project commences shipments of LNG in 2014.
Santos and PETRONAS will complete detailed engineering studies on the project before a final investment decision is made on GLNG.
The project partners said they "remain concerned about the potential impact of the Federal Government’s proposed new resources tax."
