Australia: Last QCLNG Module Arrives at Curtis Island

The longest and last of 80 modular components for the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) plant has arrived by ship at Curtis Island.

All of the modules for the two QCLNG production units – known as trains – and for supporting infrastructure have now arrived.

The steel module is 76 metres long – the equivalent of 17 average cars parked nose to tail – as wide as an Olympic swimming pool and as tall as a six-storey building.

At 1292 tonnes it is twice the maximum weight of an A380, the largest passenger aircraft.

The modules have been built in Thailand by Bechtel Australia Pty Limited, the principal contractor for the liquefaction plant.

QGC Deputy Managing Director Mitch Ingram said the shipment represented the first time modules had been built and safely delivered to a two-train project in Australia.

“The arrival of the final module is a landmark, 14 months since the first module was delivered and less than three years since Bechtel began work on our project,” Ingram said.

“This milestone marks the end of 10 million hours of construction to build 45,000 tonnes of equipment, signifying the world scale of what is being achieved on Curtis Island.”

The propane condenser module will help to cool natural gas to minus 162 degrees Celsius at which point the gas will become a liquid and be reduced to 1/600th of its gaseous volume, making it easier to store and transport by ship.

The unit will now be rolled to its foundations, aligned with adjacent modules, pipes welded and cables installed ready for commissioning.

The QCLNG plant is on schedule to be the world’s first to convert natural gas from coal seams into liquefied natural gas in 2014.

QGC has invested about A$12 billion – or 80% of its total investment of A$14.9 billion – with Australian firms since 1 January 2010.

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LNG World News Staff, October 30, 2013; Image: QGC