Queensland
Curtis LNG plant
QGC operates the Queensland Curtis
LNG plant, located on Curtis Island the second largest island on the east
coast of Queensland (after Fraser
Island) and the largest island within
the boundaries of the Great Barrier
Reef World Heritage Area.
QGC would like to acknowledge and
pay respect to the Port Curtis Coral
Coast Traditional Owner groups on
whose land we live, work and walk.
The island’s southern tip is
approximately 6km north of the
city of Gladstone, on Queensland’s
Capricorn Coast, about 475km north
of Brisbane and 40km south-east
of Rockhampton.
The island is about 58,000 hectares
in size and features coastal heaths,
rainforest, sand dunes and beach
ridges. It is bounded by sandy tidal
lagoons on the northern shores, a
40km mangrove-lined passage
Evolution of QCLNG
on Curtis Island
2010
between the western shore and the
mainland, known as The Narrows,
and sea grass tidal flats within the
natural bay of Port Curtis at its
southern end. It features a 8,640ha
National Park on its eastern side.
2011
For more than 100 years from 1862,
large portions of Curtis Island were
pastoral land used to run livestock.
In 2008, the transformation began
to a new land-use when the
Queensland Government set aside
a small section of the south-west of
the island for an industrial precinct.
2012
Today it has become the source
of a new form of energy for the
world through the establishment
of three liquefaction plants which
convert natural gas sourced from
coal seams in western Queensland
into a global commodity –
liquefied natural gas (LNG).
2013
QCLNG plant facts
• The plant covers about 270 hectares, or about 1% of Curtis Island
• Two 4.25 mpta trains. Total 8.5 mtpa capacity
• Expected throughput on plateau around 8 mpta
• Conoco Phillips Optimised Cascade® liquefaction process
2014
• Two LNG storage tanks, capacity 140,000m3 each
• First plant in the world fitted with GE aero-derivative low emissions
turbines – has reduced greenhouse emissions output by 27%
• World’s most greenhouse efficient LNG plant outside the Arctic Circle
www.bg-group.com
www.qgc.com.au
Industrial development
In October 2010, QGC’s parent company BG Group approved
the QCLNG project following receipt of environmental
approvals from the Australian and Queensland governments.
Principal contractor Bechtel Australia started construction
of the LNG plant shortly afterwards and the first quantities
of LNG were produced in December 2014.
The plant covers about 270 hectares, or about 1%, of Curtis
Island. When its two trains reach plateau production in 2016
it will have an output of about 8 million tonnes of LNG a year.
Plant efficiency
QCLNG is the first LNG plant in the world to be fitted
with GE Dry Low Emissions turbines instead of heavy duty
turbines, which have reduced its greenhouse emissions
output by about 27%.
This makes the plant the world’s most greenhouse efficient
LNG plant outside the Arctic Circle where naturally cold
temperatures create a natural advantage.
Natural gas sourced from QGC’s gas fields – the primary gas
flared at the QCLNG plant – is almost 98% methane (CH4),
as well as small amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N)
and ethane (C2H6). It requires less processing than gas with
a higher carbon dioxide content that is typically processed at
other LNG plants around the world.
Proven technology
QCLNG uses the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade® process.
This technology was first used in the Kenai LNG plant in Alaska
in 1969 and is now used in 12 LNG plants around the world.
Natural gas is treated to remove impurities and then
chilled in three successively colder refrigeration processes
(propane, ethylene, methane) until it reaches a liquid state
(LNG) at -162°C.
LNG is stored at near atmospheric pressure in insulated tanks
and transported in double-hulled vessels to customer receiving
terminals. At these terminals LNG is returned to ambient
temperature and becomes the same natural gas used to
cook meals, warm homes, fuel busses and power plants.
Process safety
Safe operation of the LNG plant is our number one priority.
The facility has world-class systems including significant
controls and risk reduction measures to ensure that risks
are minimised. The QCLNG Safety Case, which complies
with the Queensland Work Health and Safety Act 2011,
provides a comprehensive analysis of potential incidents
and risks that could lead to an incident, and outlines the
control measures in place.
The QCLNG plant emergency management plan defines the
procedures to ensure protection of employees, the public,
environment and assets and caters for information flow
and liaison with external authorities and agencies.
Our operators have extensive training in operating the plant’s
integrated control and safety system.
The system features an emergency blowdown system
that allows sections of the plant, or the whole plant,
to be depressurised automatically or manually following
the activation of flame or gas detectors.
The plant’s safety system is supported by dedicated fire
and rescue crews based at the plant. Under the command
of specialist fire and rescue services provider Corporate
Protection Australia, QGC has one of the largest private
fire services in Australia with crews at Curtis Island and
at its processing facilities in the Surat Basin.
An integral feature of the emergency response capability at
the LNG plant is a $1.1 million fire truck that was specifically
designed by Queensland company Quik Corp Fire Engineering.
How we make LNG
Queensland Curtis LNG plant, Curtis Island, Gladstone, Australia
The process:
Loading arms 10
LNG carrier
LNG storage tanks 9
LNG TRAIN 1
Metering and flow control 1
Filter separation 2
CO2 removal 3
Dehydration 4
Carbon filtration 5
Propane exchange 6
LNG TRAIN 2
Ethylene cold box 7
Methane cold box 8
1 Control the flow
Valves regulate the flow of natural gas as it
enters the plant.
2 Remove impurities
In this first stage of filtration, natural gas is
separated from impurities – chiefly free liquids
and solids (dust). Some of these elements remain.
3 Remove carbon dioxide
CO2 is removed as the gas passes through a solvent.
4 Remove water
Remaining water is absorbed in
dehydration beds.
5 Carbon filtration
Activated carbon beds remove remaining
impurities from the gas.
6 Refrigerate using propane
The natural gas is ready to be cooled.
It passes through a series of three units which
operate on the same principles as domestic
refrigerators. The first uses propane.
7 Refrigerate using ethylene
The natural gas passes through a refrigeration
system that uses ethylene. This further cools the
gas to the state where it starts to condense.
8 Refrigerate using methane (natural gas)
The natural gas passes through a refrigeration
process that uses methane to fully condense
the gas into LNG.
9 Store the LNG
LNG is pumped to two storage tanks, each with
140,000m3 capacity, or about enough to fill
an LNG vessel.
10 Load the LNG
LNG is pumped from the storage tanks along a
250m loading jetty to the carrier. At the jetty head
loading arms transfer the LNG into the carrier.
Liquefied natural gas
(LNG)
Environmental offset
In August 2014, QGC, the Queensland
Government and neighbouring LNG
project proponents announced a
landmark conservation initiative
that means nearly two thirds
of Curtis Island is now set aside
for environmental conservation,
compared to just over 2% used
for the industrial precinct.
The companies finalised an
environmental offset package
worth $34.5 million over 25 years
that includes:
• Purchase of the 25,000 ha former
cattle property Monte Christo and
associated freehold and leasehold
land and transfer of title to the
Queensland Government
• Protection of more than 8,700 ha
of land either as newly declared
conservation park or national park
• Removal of grazing, forestry and
threatening land use processes
from nearly 23,500 ha of the World
Heritage Area.
Combined with the existing 8,640 ha
Curtis Island National Park, more than
59% of the island is now actively
managed under an island-wide
conservation management strategy
that is enabling long-term restoration
and management of its environmental
values, including research into native
plants and animals such as dugongs,
turtles and seagrass.
The offsets package meets
environmental offset requirements
for the development of the three LNG
plants and marine facilities, plus the
gas transmission pipeline corridor on
Curtis Island and the marine crossings
required for the pipelines between
the island and the mainland.
In addition, QGC will contribute about
$11 million over the next 20 years to
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority for ongoing management
of the Great Barrier Reef.
In collaboration with industry,
science, government and statutory
bodies, QGC is also a member of
the Gladstone Healthy Harbour
Partnership that monitors and
reports annually on the environmental,
social, cultural and economic health
of Gladstone Harbour, including
considerations of water quality
and fish health.
Natural gas is used safely by millions
of people around the world. It is
colourless and odourless and, like
all fuels, it remains safe as long as
good operating practices are followed.
Natural gas is liquefied by chilling
it to -162°C. This reduces it to 1/600th
of its original volume – the equivalent
of a 43cm beach ball being reduced
to a ping-pong ball – making it
economical to transport by ship
to places that cannot be connected
by pipelines.
Natural gas was first liquefied in
1912 at a plant in the United States.
As a liquid LNG cannot be ignited,
however, the industry still goes to
extreme lengths to prevent sparks
and naked flames in LNG plants.
Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation,
the CSIRO, has shown that LNG poses
less of a potential hazard than many
commonly used fuels, such as diesel.
Although LNG vapours may burn
when released to the atmosphere,
they do not release energy quickly
enough to create overpressures,
or an explosion.
When LNG mixes with water or comes
in contact with land, it warms to form
a white vapour cloud that dissipates
into the atmosphere, leaving no
lasting residue.
About QGC
London Stock Exchange-listed BG Group is a world leader in
natural gas with a broad portfolio of business interests focused on
exploration and production and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Active
in more than 20 countries on five continents, BG Group combines
a deep understanding of gas markets with a proven track record in
finding and commercialising reserves.
Contact Details
www.bg-group.com
In December 2014, QGC became the first operation in the world to
produce LNG from natural gas sourced from coal seams and is now
adding volumes and flexibility to BG’s global LNG portfolio.
The start of production from QGC’s first LNG train is the result of
more than four years of development and construction on Curtis
Island near Gladstone and in the gasfields of the Surat Basin
through the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project.
Please contact QGC for more information.
1800 030 443 (toll-free)
email: [email protected]
Published: May 2015
QGC Pty Limited
275 George Street
Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia
2015-0105
QGC Pty Limited is the Australian asset of BG Group plc.
www.qgc.com.au