Australia: Port Kembla FSRU project gets planning approval

The New South Wales government has given planning approval for Australian Industrial Energy to construct the gas terminal at Port Kembla, the first LNG import terminal in the state.

The new terminal will accommodate liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier ships, a floating LNG handling facility, wharf infrastructure and a pipeline to connect to the existing NSW east coast gas network nearby.

Once operational, the terminal could supply 70 percent of the state’s annual gas demand and help to ease the cost of energy bills for the 33,000 businesses and a million households in NSW that depend on natural gas, the government said in its statement.

Before approving the terminal, the NSW government assessed the environmental, social and economic impacts identified by community, government and independent stakeholders.

Planning approval includes conditions to manage impacts during the construction of the import terminal, including excavation and dredging activities in Port Kembla harbour and management of contaminated materials and acid sulphate soils.

The conditions also require AIE to manage hazards and risks associated with the operation of the LNG import facility and gas pipeline and regulate and monitor air and water discharges from the project during construction and operations.

The project proponent, the Australian-led consortium, Australian Industrial Energy said in an earlier statement that the facility will have the capacity to supply in excess of 100PJ per annum, sufficient to meet over 70 percent of NSW’s total gas needs.

Construction of the terminal is likely to require a capital investment of between $200m and $300 million, AIE said.

The consortium pushing the project forward comprises Australia’s Squadron Energy and Japan’s Marubeni and Jera.