LNG project approved

AUSTRALIAN Pacific LNG (APLNG) received its environmental approval yesterday, making the company the third LNG proponent in six months to receive the go-ahead on Curtis Island.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke approved, with strict environmental conditions, the APLNG project from Curtis Island to the Surat Basin proposed by Origin Energy and ConocoPhillips. “The conditions contain protection measures for threatened species and ecological communities, migratory species and national and world heritage values,” Mr Bourke said.

“For the LNG facilities on Curtis Island, these include requirements to minimise light and noise, reduce vessel speeds, limit vessel movements, and manage feral species and weeds.”

The APLNG project involves the development of CSG resources in the Surat and Bowen Basins; building a 450km transmission pipeline; and construction of a multi-train LNG facility on Curtis Island, near Gladstone.

Gladstone mayor Gail Sellers said the approval meant much similar to the situation Gladstone has had for the past two years and the LNG companies must work with the Gladstone Regional Council (GRC) to provide infrastructure.

“The GRC will be doing their best to make contact with APLNG and discuss the conditions with them and I hope the council can work with them and the state and federal governments to provide the infrastructure that we need here both hard and soft,” Cr Sellers said.

“Gladstone is going to have the same problems that face us now.

“We are going to have the problem of more people at the hospital; more people in the schools and we are going to have more people on the road, which is becoming more evident each day and we need these companies to work with the GRC to provide the infrastructure.”