The Queensland Curtis LNG project proposes to develop an integrated liquefied natural gas project in Queensland comprising three principal components:

• expansion of coal seam gas operations in the Surat Basin to provide gas for two liquefied natural gas plants or trains and gas for domestic markets
• development of a gas and water pipeline network of approximately 800 kilometres including a 220 kilometres network of gas and water pipelines connecting the primary gas fields, a 200 kilometres lateral to other nearby gas resources, and a 380 kilometres pipeline to the liquefied natural gas plant at Gladstone
• development of the liquefied natural gas processing and export facility on Curtis Island, near Gladstone, comprising three liquefied natural gas trains of total capacity up to 12 million tonnes per annum (a first train to be followed by a second within a year and with the potential development of the third train), three storage tanks of up 200,000 cubic metres each (one for each liquefied natural gas train) and a marine jetty containing specialised liquefied natural gas loading facilities and berths.

The proponent for the project is Queensland Gas Company Ltd (QGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the BG Group, a top-10 publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of more than $80 billion (as of April 2008). BG operates worldwide through the gas supply chain in exploration and production, power, transmission and distribution, and liquefied natural gas and has interests in 27 countries.

Queensland Gas Company holds exploration and production leases over 7500 square kilometres in the Surat Basin. QGC explores and produces coal seam gas under existing mining tenures and holds contracts to supply customers with more than 700 petajoules of gas over the next 20 years.

The proponent estimates the capital expenditure for the first stage of the project to be approximately $8 billion. The project will require a workforce of approximately 4,100 people at the peak of construction and provide approximately 1,000 permanent jobs during the operation phase.

Environmental impact statement process

On 4 July 2008, the Coordinator-General declared the project to be a 'significant project' for which an environmental impact statement (EIS) is required in accordance with Part 4 of the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 (Qld). The Department of Infrastructure and Planning will manage the EIS process on behalf of the Coordinator-General.

On 15 September 2008 the Commonwealth Minister for the Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts determined that the nine referrals relating to the project are each a ‘controlled action’ pursuant to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth).The minister further decided that environmental impacts should be assessed by way of an environmental impact statement pursuant to section 87 of the EPBC Act.

The declaration of the project as a significant project does not indicate support for, or approval of, the project by the Coordinator-General or the Queensland Government. Rather it is a requirement for the project to undergo a rigorous environmental impact statement process.

The EIS process is to be administered in parallel by the Department of Infrastructure and Planning for the Coordinator-General under the SDPWOA on behalf of the Queensland Government and by the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts under the EPBC Act, on behalf of the Australian Government.

The EIS was released for public and advisory agency comment on 28 August 2009 until 19 October 2009.  A total of 38 submissions on the EIS were received by the Coordinator-General.  Submissions are currently being considered.

Resources

The following documents are available for viewing or download:

• Initial advice statement ( 1.6 MB)
• Project location overview - figure 1 ( 1.2 MB)
• Proposed location in Gladstone - figure 3 ( 1.3 MB)
• Terms of reference ( 446 KB)
• Preface to EIS executive summary( 161 KB)
• Table of contents to the EIS( 21 KB)
• Executive summary to the EIS( 3.1 MB)
• Media release - Multi-billion dollar Gladstone LNG projects - a step closer (28 August 2009)

Further information

Further information on the project including the complete EIS may be obtained by visiting the Queensland Curtis LNG website.

For further information regarding the EIS process for the project, contact Infrastructure and Economic Development Group and address your enquiry to the Queensland Curtis LNG project.