Gladstone Ships 200th LNG Cargo
Gladstone LNG shipped its 200th cargo last week. Its Australian operator and 30% shareholder Santos said June 7 that the cargo from Curtis Island in Queensland docked at the Incheon terminal in South Korea June 4 aboard the carrier YK Sovereign.
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said that the natural gas industry is building a better future for hundreds of millions of people across Asia: “If all of Australia’s LNG exports from next year were used to replace legacy coal-fired power generation in Asia, the emissions saving would be 300mn tons a year.”
GLNG is investing around A$900mn ($685mn) in upstream production infrastructure this year, he added: “Santos is drilling a record 300 wells in Queensland this year. More gas production increases total east coast supply which is good for both the domestic gas market and LNG exports.”
Last month Santos rejected a US$10.9bn takeover bid by US fund-owned Harbour Energy who wanted to get into LNG trade.
Queensland to benefit from LNG
Exports of LNG will enrich the state by some A$1.78bm in royalties over the 2018-2021 fiscal years, which is close to A$1bn more than forecast, according to the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (Appea).
“To put it in context, the royalties forecast to be paid by the natural gas industry are enough to support the jobs of over 4,000 teachers, nurses or emergency services workers each year. Importantly, this contribution will extend well beyond 2020-21,” it said.
Between 2011 and 2017 the rapid development of the state’s natural gas and LNG industries were responsible for over $70bn in direct and indirect economic stimulus whilst supporting tens of thousands of construction jobs, Appea said