Last LNG module arrives at Curtis Island

The longest and last of 60 modular components for the Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas (QCLNG) plant has arrived at Curtis Island.

The modules for the two QCLNG production units, known as trains, and for supporting infrastructure, have now all arrived. The last steel module is 76 m in length, as wide as an Olympic swimming pool, stands at six storeys high and weighs 1292 t.

The modules have been built in Thailand by Bechtel Australia Pty Ltd, the principal contractor for the LNG plant.

Deputy Managing Director for the project, Mitch Ingram, said the shipment represented the first time modules had been built and safely delivered to a two-train project in Australia.

"The arrival of the final module is a landmark, 14 months since the first module was delivered and less than three years since Bechtel began work on our project," Ingram explained.

"This milestone marks the end of 10 million hours of construction to build 45 000 t of equipment, signifying the world scale of what is being achieved on Curtis Island."

The propane condenser module will help to cool natural gas to -162 degrees Celsius at which point the gas will become a liquid and be reduced to 1/600th of its gaseous volume, making it easier to store and transport by ship.

The unit will now be rolled to its foundations, aligned with adjacent modules, pipes welded and cables installed ready for commissioning.

The QCLNG plant is on schedule to be the world's first to convert natural gas from coal seams into LNG in 2014.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/31102013/last_lng_module_arrives_at_curtis_island/