LNG plant answer quake query

David Craft, project director of Queensland Curtis LNG AB Group, speaks at the Region of Choice Summit about the region’s earthquake threat.

Kerry Thomas

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• LNG work on track

QUEENSLAND Curtis LNG’s plant on Curtis Island will be built to withstand magnitude-7 earthquakes, project director David Craft told the Region of Choice summit yesterday.

After the recent earthquake in Christchurch, concern was raised by local seismologist Mike Turnbull that the facilities built on Curtis Island would have to withstand at least magnitide-6 earthquakes because of the sedimentary rock the island was made up of.

Mr Craft gave an update on the project which included details about the site preparation and the progress of the pipeline.

“Ninety-two percent – 151 hectares of land – has been cleared on Curtis Island for the site and there are 92 people working on the island now,” he said.

Although the Curtis Island project won’t begin operating until 2014, there are already 1000 QCLNG employees in the Surat Basin, Brisbane and Gladstone.

Other aspects of the project under way were the construction of the Auckland Point freight marshalling facility and long-term parking in Alf O’Rourke Drive.

Mr Craft said the timeframe for construction of the plant was towards the end of the year, although the tank base would be started in the third quarter of the year.

Commissioning of the plant is expected in late 2013, with it being operational in 2014.

The two-train plant will produce 12 million tonnes of LNG a year and 300m-long LNG ships will berth two to three times a week.

Mr Craft has 30 years’ experience in the gas industry and has a career that provides extensive knowledge of technology-based process units and LNG plants.