Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) has celebrated a milestone with the first shipment of liquefied natural gas leaving Curtis Island (QLD), bound for Asian export markets.
APLNG is a joint venture between Origin Energy, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec and is the third Queensland LNG project to become operational.
At full capacity, APLNG will export up to nine million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year and is expected to provide 10,000 jobs throughout the life of the project.
APLNG and the two other Queensland LNG projects are a result of more than $60billion of investment.
Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, Josh Frydenberg, said these projects solidify Australia’s position as a leader in the global LNG industry.
Mr Frydenberg said the long term outlook for Australia’s gas industry remains strong, with the International Energy Agency forecasting continued growth in global gas demand over the coming years.
Australia is expected to directly benefit from this increased demand with LNG exports set to triple by 2019-20, when Australia is expected to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG.
Mr Frydenberg said the Government is committed to capturing continued investment in the energy and resources sectors by focusing of removing $4.5billion of red tape from the economy, including $546million per annum through one-stop shops for environmental approvals to minimise project delays and costs.
Mr Frydenberg said the Government is also focussed on opening new market opportunities and expanding existing ones through free trade agreements with China, Japan, and Korea and the Trans Pacific Partnership. They are also looking to establish two Industry Growth Centres dedicated to expanding Australia’s excellence in mining equipment, technology and services, as well as the oil, gas and resources sectors.
