Santos’ Gladstone LNG and the BG Group-led Queensland Curtis LNG (QGC) have signed an agreement to interconnect their pipelines to reduce supply risk to their adjacent processing projects. The agreement links both projects’ major pipelines in two places: on the western side of The Narrows Crossing near Mt Larcom in central Queensland, and on Curtis Island.
The move should help QGC and GLNG to run their LNG plants more efficiently.
Santos Vice President GLNG Downstream, Rod Duke, said: “The interconnect points will enable gas to flow from one project to the other when necessary, for example to allow for LNG plant downtime and planned maintenance to occur without interrupting either project’s gas field operations.”
Two interconnects will provide additional flexibility over the lifetime of both projects and offers more options to the plant operators for moving gas.
“Ultimately it means the two companies will be able to buy, sell and swap gas at these points during scheduled and unscheduled events, therefore maximising plant productivity,” added Duke.
This is the first significant bilateral agreement between the two projects.
Duke said: “The QGC and Santos GLNG agreement sets both projects up for the next 20 to 30 years and demonstrates our commitment to further enhancing co-operation between the two projects.”
It is hoped that this will be the first of many mutually beneficial arrangements across Australia in the future.
Construction of the two interconnect points on adjoining easements is expected to be completed in 2014.
Adapted from press release by Callum O’Reilly