From initial advice statement to export – a 10 year retrospective of Queensland’s liquefied natural gas industry
Peter Downey A , Jon Thomas A B and Mark Stone AA Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, 1 William Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: Jon.Thomas@dnrme.qld.gov.au
The APPEA Journal 59(1) 58-69 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18070
Submitted: 10 December 2018 Accepted: 10 January 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
A decade on from the submission of project initial advice statements to Queensland Government agencies in 2008, this paper provides a retrospective on the development journey of three integrated coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) mega-projects currently delivering domestic and international markets. The process from development concept to operating asset is considered from several perspectives including: project rationale, description and delivery, as well as regulatory approvals. Project delivery is further considered in terms of the upstream, midstream and downstream components. The delivery of world first CSG to LNG is discussed in the context of project execution during significant volatility in the global oil, gas and LNG markets. All three projects have successfully completed commissioning and start-up. Although all six trains have been performance tested at name-plate production capacity, current LNG production is below this level. This paper examines their evolution from the initial concepts through to delivery, including current gas reserves and those required to sustain gas supply over expected project life. The paper also considers how these projects and any future expansion of the Queensland LNG industry will be impacted upon by an evolving global LNG market.
Keywords: coal seam gas to LNG, Coordinator-General, Gladstone, integrated gas development, LNG, mega-project, petroleum tenure, regulatory approvals, Surat, water production.
Peter Downey holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Certificate in Policy Analysis from Griffith University. He is currently Principal Policy Officer within the Strategic Policy Unit of the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. Peter has 10 years of experience in economic analysis and economic policy development in the areas of natural, mineral and energy resources. |
Jon Thomas holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mineral Surveying from the Camborne School of Mines and post-graduate qualifications from Deakin University. He is currently Portfolio Manager within the Petroleum Assessment Hub of the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. Jon has 25 years of experience in the extractive resources and manufacturing industries, in technical and managerial roles. |
Mark Stone holds a Master of Engineering degree in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University. He is currently Executive Director – Resources Safety and Health within the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. Mark has 25 years of experience in the mineral and energy resources industry, across oil and gas development and production, and as a regulator. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. |
References
APLNG (2009) Australia Pacific LNG Project: Initial advice statement. Available at https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/resources/project/australia-pacific-lng/aplng-ias-27-mar-09.pdf [Verified 17 January 2019].BP (2018) Statistical Review of World Energy. 67th edn. Available at https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2018-full-report.pdf [Verified 17 January 2019].
Business Insider Australia (2015) CHART: Labour costs in Australia compared to other countries. Available at https://www.businessinsider.com.au/chart-labour-costs-in-australia-compared-to-other-countries-2015-6 [Verified 17 January 2019].
Department of Industry Innovation and Science (2018) Resources and Energy Quarterly – June 2018. Available at https://publications.industry.gov.au/publications/resourcesandenergyquarterlyjune2018/index.html [Verified 17 January 2019].
Department of Natural Resources and Mines (2016) Underground water impact report for the Surat cumulative management area (State of Queensland). Available at https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/345616/uwir-surat-basin-2016.pdf [Verified 17 January 2019].
EnergyQuest (2018) Monthly LNG Report – August 2018. (EnergyQuest: Adelaide)
International Gas Union (2018) IGU World Gas LNG Report – 2018 Edition. (IGU). Available at https://www.igu.org/sites/default/files/node-document-field_file/IGU_LNG_2018_0.pdf [Verified 17 January 2019].
Ledesma, D., Palmer, N., and Henderson, J. (2014) The future of Australian LNG exports: will domestic challenges limit the development of future LNG export capacity? (Oxford Institute for Energy Studies: Oxford). Available at https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/NG-90.pdf [Verified 17 January 2019].
Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (2018) Annual report 2018 for the Surat underground water impact report 2016. Available at https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1397644/surat-uwir-annual-report-2018.pdf [Verified 17 January 2019].
Society of Petroleum Engineers (1997) Petroleum Reserves definitions (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Available at https://www.spe.org/industry/petroleum-reserves-definitions.php [Verified 8 February 2019].
Underschultz, J. R., Vink, S., and Garnett, A. (2018). Coal seam gas associated water production in Queensland: Actual vs predicted. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 52, 410–422.
| Coal seam gas associated water production in Queensland: Actual vs predicted.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
