Roof Raised on Second QCLNG Tank, Australia

Queensland Curtis LNG has reached another major milestone with installation of the roof on the project’s second tank on Curtis Island, near Gladstone.

Elevation of the 900-tonne steel dome marks the safe completion of the second engineering feat of this kind for the QCLNG Project after the roof was raised on the adjacent tank in February.

The dome rose 38 metres as fans under the structure increased air pressure only enough to inflate a party balloon.

The three-hour lift was monitored by a team of engineers to ensure a safe and even rise.

At the end of the operation welders attached the 79 metre-wide roof to a steel ring embedded in the concrete tank walls.

The roof will now be covered with concrete. The interior of the tank will be insulated and lined with nickel steel to keep the gas liquefied at minus 162 degrees Celsius.

Four pumps will be installed to transfer LNG to a jetty, where the gas will be loaded on to a specially built vessel for transport to Asia-Pacific markets from 2014.

QCLNG Project Director Mitch Ingram said the LNG plant was at an advanced stage of construction.

“We continue to meet key targets, with first gas expected to be delivered to the LNG plant around the end of the year to enable the start of commissioning,” Mr Ingram said.

“Our project is more than half complete, and we are well on the way to producing first LNG in 2014.”

Bechtel Australia Pty Ltd, the construction contractor for the QCLNG plant, began building the first tank 19 months ago.

Progress elsewhere on the LNG plant continues, with all 62 Train 1 modules and three Train 2 modules delivered and installed. The remaining 15 modules are scheduled to arrive this year.

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