Name and Location
Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (APLNG) project.

Client
APLNG, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Origin and ConocoPhillips. Sinopec has agreed to subscribe for a 15% equity interest in APLNG.

On completion of the transaction, the ownership interest of Origin and ConocPhillips will be reduced to 42.5%.

Project Description
The project will consist of the further development of APLNG’s gasfields in the Surat and Bowen basins, in south-western and central Queensland respectively; a gas pipeline from the gasfields to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, in Gladstone, Queensland; and an LNG facility on Curtis Island, in Gladstone, the first two trains of which will have a processing capacity of up to nine-million tonnes a year.

Value
The cost of the project is estimated at $24.7-billion.

Duration
First LNG production is expected in 2015.

Latest Developments
The APLNG project is on track to produce its first LNG by mid-2015.

Full production from both trains is expected by the end of 2016.

The upstream component of the project was about 85% complete at the end of September.

The project developer has also drilled 166 development wells, bringing the total number of development wells drilled to 985 at the end of September. About 70 wells a month are now being commissioned on an ongoing basis.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
A review of the APLNG project has increased the estimated price from $23-billion to $24.7-billion.

According to Origin MD Grant Kind, the increase in costs reflects increased certainty around well and gathering locations for gas for Train 2, enabling more accurate cost estimates, changes to the coal seam gas water management scope to align with revised government policy, cost increases for third-party LNG projects in which APLNG has an interest and an increased allowance for project contingency.

Contact Details for Project Information
APLNG external affairs manager Fiona McLeod, tel +61 7 3021 3325.