The ConocoPhilips-operated Australia Pacific LNG project has on Saturday shipped its first cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Curtis Island facility near Gladstone.
The first cargo was loaded onboard the Methane Spirit LNG carrier, Origin Energy, one of the project partners, said in a statement.
The second cargo of chilled gas is expected to be shipped soon from the A$25 billion (US$17 billion) APLNG plant.
However, the first cargo was planned to be loaded before the end of 2015. The delay has caused issues for another APLNG partner, China’s Sinopec that has had the BW Pavilion Vanda LNG carrier waiting at anchor off Gladstone since December 18. As Reuters reports, due to the delay, Sinopec racked up more than US$500,000 in demurrage costs.
Sinopec has a 7.6 mtpa long-term contract with APLNG while Japan’s Kansai Electric has booked 1 mtpa of LNG from the facility on a 20-year deal.
Australia Pacific LNG CEO, Page Maxson said that the full production capacity of 9 million tons per year from the APLNG facility is expected to be reached in 2016.
With the start-up of APLNG’s first train, all three liquefied natural gas facilities on the Curtis Island near Gladstone have entered operation.
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LNG World News Staff