Name and Location
Santos Gladstone liquefied natural gas (GLNG) project, Queensland, Australia.

Client
The GLNG project is a joint venture between the operator, Santos (30%), Petronas (27.5%), Total (27.5%) and Korea Gas Corporation (15%).

Project Description
The Santos GLNG project is a pioneering venture to convert coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to global markets.

It includes the development of CSG resources in the Bowen and Surat basins, in south-east Queensland, the construction of a 420 km underground gas transmission pipeline to Gladstone, and two LNG trains, with a combined nameplate capacity of 7.8-million tonnes a year, on Curtis Island.

Value
$18.5-billion.

Duration
The first LNG will be delivered in 2015 and plateau production of the LNG plant is expected to be reached in 2016 and be maintained for more than 20 years.

Latest Developments
Santos GLNG has achieved another milestone, with the final section of its gas transmission pipeline having been successfully pushed through a tunnel beneath the Gladstone Harbour to the LNG plant on Curtis Island.

The 120 pipeline segments, each 36 m long, were welded and gradually pushed through the 4.3 km tunnel over the past month using a large hydraulic jack. The tunnel was filled with seawater to buoy the 42-inch-diameter pipeline as it was pushed through.

The delivery of the first undersea crossing for Queensland’s CSG-to-LNG industry brings the pipeline to its final stages of completion.

The undersea tunnel enables the JV partners to cross The Narrows without disturbing the local marine environment and with minimal impact on the surrounding coastal environments.

In the coming weeks, the marine-crossing pipe will be connected to the rest of Santos GLNG’s 420 kilometre pipeline buried on the mainland and Curtis Island.

Pipeline precommissioning works are well under way, with clean and gauge activities nearing completion and about half of the required hydrotesting completed. The pipeline route will be fully rehabilitated, with initial reinstatement works more than 90% complete.

The gas transmission pipeline is being built by Santos GLNG’s contractor Saipem Australia, while the tunnel was constructed by subcontractor Thiess.

The 3.45-m-internal-diameter undersea tunnel was a feat in itself, running about 8 m below the seabed and built using a 100-m-long, 277 t tunnel-boring machine.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Fluor Corporation (engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for upstream facilities); Saipem (construction of the gas transmission pipeline), Bechtel (construction of the LNG plant) and Theiss (tunnel).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is on track

Contact Details for Project Information
Santos GLNG project, tel +61 07 3838 3000, fax +61 7 3862 3722 or email info@glng.com.au.