THE first vessel set to be loaded with liquefied natural gas docked off Gladstone yesterday in an important milestone for Queensland’s energy sector.
The 283m-long Methane Rita Andrea eased in to place at Curtis Island, where it will be loaded with 145,000 cubic metres of LNG bound for Singapore.
The vessel will transport gas from QGC, which has poured $US20.4 billion in to the massive project over the past four years.
By 2016 the company expects to fill about 120 ships a year, or two to three every week.
With two rival LNG projects scheduled to begin exports next year, in time it is expected a ship will be loaded at Curtis Island every day.
“There remains work to do, but we are on schedule to start loading LNG into the first ship to carry a cargo from Curtis Island,” a QGC spokesman said yesterday.
“Mechanical testing of the facility is now complete.”
Onlookers watch the Methane Rita Adrea enter Gladstone Harbour on Boxing Day. Picture: Murray Ware
Anchored offshore earlier this week, the double-hulled ship was escorted 24km through Gladstone Harbour yesterday by three tug boats.
It is one of about 25 carriers owned or leased by QGC’s parent company BG Group.
QGC and its competitors have built the world’s first processing complex to turn natural gas from coal seams in to LNG.
They transport the gas from the Surat Basin via a 540km pipeline network to Curtis Island, where it is cooled to -162C.
That reduces the gas by about 600 times its original volume, making it easier to ship economically.
The LNG plant will be comprised of two production units able to generate 4.25 million tonnes a year.
LNG is expected to become a major part of the Queensland economy as demand from Asian consumers increases.
source: couriermail.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 