BG’s QCLNG project on track

BG’s 8.5 mtpa QCLNG project in Australia remains on schedule for first LNG in the fourth quarter of this year and within the Phase 1 budget of $20.4 billion.

Around 2,300 coal seam gas (CSG) wells have been drilled as at the end of the third quarter, with around 1,300 CSG wells available for production or de-watering, BG said in its third quarter report.

In August, a new project labour agreement was signed, which ended the industrial dispute with the labour unions. Following this, at the LNG plant on Curtis Island, the gas turbine generators (GTGs) successfully provided permanent  power for the facility and in October, mechanical testing for the compressors commenced, BG said.

The introduction of hydrocarbons into purification front-end units is planned to occur in November with plant cool down planned for the end of November.

There is limited remaining contingency in the schedule, but BG currently expects the first LNG cargo to leave Curtis Island in December this year.

As part of the commissioning process, BG is ramping up gas production at the QCLNG project. In the third quarter, production at 34 kboed was 31% higher than the third quarter of 2013 and is planned to continue to ramp up in line with first LNG in December.

The increased production has short term implications for the domestic gas market. BG has several arrangements in place to manage ramp gas, which include storage and commercial agreements to supply domestic customers, it added.

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