Origin confirms first LNG exported by Australia Pacific LNG

Origin Energy Limited (Origin) today confirmed the first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has departed the Australia Pacific LNG facility on Curtis Island in Queensland.

The Methane Spirit departed Curtis Island near Gladstone on Saturday 9 January.

Origin Managing Director Grant King said, “This is a landmark moment in the history of Origin. Together with our partners, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec, we have been working towards this milestone for more than seven years.

“Origin is delighted that the first LNG cargo has departed from Australia Pacific LNG, carrying natural gas for delivery to Asia.

“These are incredibly large, complex projects and exporting the first cargo is a tremendous achievement for the Origin team that led delivery of the Upstream operations, and the ConocoPhillips team that led delivery of the Downstream operations.

“It is important to acknowledge the contribution of more than 15,000 workers, as well as the support of our customers, landholders, communities, suppliers and governments at the local, state and federal level, without which we would not have reached this milestone today.

“LNG plants have a long operational life and Australia Pacific LNG is expected to deliver a significant amount of earnings to Origin,” Mr King said.

Australia Pacific LNG is one of three LNG plants on the east coast of Australia to become operational over the past year. As these and other LNG projects currently under development come online, the LNG industry will make an increasingly important contribution to the Australian economy in the form of jobs and taxes.

Once both of its two production trains are fully operational, Australia Pacific LNG will have a nameplate capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, with approximately 8.6 mtpa committed under long term take-or-pay contracts with Sinopec in China and Kansai in Japan.

Australia Pacific LNG produces natural gas from Australia’s largest 2P CSG reserves base located in the Surat and Bowen basins in Queensland, which is piped 530 kilometres to its LNG facility on Curtis Island where it is converted to LNG for export to customers in Asia