Palaszczuk welcomes CBM-to-LNG investment

The Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has welcomed QCG’s AUS$1.7 billion investment in the state’s coalbed methane (CBM: called coal seam gas in Australia) to LNG industry.

“As the LNG industry in Queensland moves from the construction phase to the operational phase, there have been fewer jobs in the industry than there were in the boom years,” said Palaszczuk. “QCG’s announcement […] that they are investing AUS$1.7 billion in this industry is a welcome boost to the Queensland economy that will support 1600 jobs.”

The investment by QGC, a subsidiary of the UK-based BG Group, and its joint venture partners, China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Tokyo Gas, into the so-called Charlie project will help support gas production west of Wandoan in the Surat Basin.

The works are part of the continuous development of QGC’s tenements in the Surat Basin to sustain natural gas supply to both domestic customers and the two-train Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) liquefaction plant on Curtis Island, near Gladstone, QGC said in a statement.

“I visited Curtis Island in May this year to see their LNG plant and we will see millions of tonnes of LNG exported through the facility,” continued Palaszczuk. “I said then that the LNG industry had a strong future in Queensland and QGC’s announcement […] is proof of that.

According to Queensland State Development Minister, Anthony Lynham, Queensland’s LNG exports are projected to his AUS$15 billion by 2016/17, while the state will become the fourth largest LNG exporter by 2018.

“Gas-fired power is cleaner than coal-fired power and will play an increasingly important role in global energy needs,” Lynham said in a statement. “Queensland has strong partnerships with key markets like Asia and we’re well-placed to benefit from this and play and increasing role in a global clean energy future.

Not all are positive about the growing unconventional gas industry in Australia, however. Senator Glenn Lazarus, a prominent critic of coalbed methane and other unconventional gas extraction recently introduced measure to the Australian Senate that would set up an enquiry into the safety of the industry and the way it interacts with the rural communities in which it operates.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/cbm/18112015/queensland-premier-welcome-cbm-to-lng-investment-3176/