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The acquisition of QGC brought 11 tcf of
resource to the Group. Production is currently
supplying the domestic market. Future
production will also supply a LNG liquefaction
plant so that in 2015, production is expected
to total 80 mmboe. The QCLNG Project
includes an initial two-train 7.4 mtpa
liquefaction plant with potential expansion
up to 12 mtpa. The plant is to be built on a
270 hectare site at North China Bay on Curtis
Island, Gladstone, on the Queensland coast,
and first LNG for delivery is expected in 2014.
The project also involves the construction of
a 380 kilometre underground pipeline to
Gladstone, additional pipeline capacity to
link nearby CSG resources, as well as the
development of the LNG terminal. Bechtel
has been appointed to work on the FEED
study and BG Group expects to sanction
the project in 2010.
In July 2008, the QCLNG Project was awarded
‘Significant Project Status’ by the Queensland
government, which triggers environmental
impact assessment under Queensland and
Australian government legislation. In August
2009, BG Group submitted its Environmental
Impact Statement for public consultation and
a decision from the Queensland and Australian
authorities is expected in early 2010.
In February 2009, to secure additional
CSG resource, BG Group made an all-cash
takeover offer to acquire all of the issued
shares in Pure Energy Resources Limited
(Pure Energy) for A$6.40 per share. BG Group
increased its offer to A$8.25 per share and
subsequently completed the acquisition
in May for a total consideration of
A$1 014 million (£464 million). The acquisition
adds 2 tcf of CSG resource, making a total
of more than 13 tcf of reserves and resources
in Queensland.
The acquisition of Pure Energy has brought
additional CSG reserves and resources
located adjacent to key QGC licences in
the Surat Basin. In addition, the acquisition
brings large tracts of prospective coal seam
gas acreage in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.
In total, BG Group now owns interests in
onshore concessions in Australia covering
more than 130 000 square kilometres. In
Queensland, the business holds interests
in more than 40 000 square kilometres of
acreage. To date, only a fraction of the total
ground under lease has been explored
or developed.
In May 2009, BG Group signed a LNG Project
Development Agreement with China
National Offshore Oil Corporation and its
affiliates (CNOOC), focused on the QCLNG
Project. The agreement sets out the basis
on which:
• CNOOC will purchase 3.6 mtpa of LNG
for a period of 20 years from the start-up
of QCLNG;
• CNOOC will purchase 5% of BG Group’s
interest in the reserves and resources of
certain tenements in the Walloons Fairway
of the Surat Basin in Queensland;
• CNOOC will become a 10% equity investor
in one of the two liquefaction trains that
will form the first phase of QCLNG; and
• BG Group and CNOOC will jointly
participate in a consortium formed to
construct two LNG ships in China that
would be owned by the consortium.
BG Group and CNOOC intend to complete
negotiations and execute fully-termed
transaction documents prior to the final
investment decision in 2010 to sanction
the project.
QCLNG is firmly underpinned by BG Group’s
global LNG supply agreements. Upon
execution of the fully-termed transaction
documents with CNOOC, BG Group's LNG
supply commitments with partners and
customers in Chile, Singapore and China
will account for up to 8.3 mtpa, firmly
underpinning development of the two-train
first phase of the QCLNG Project.
Condamine Power Station
Acquired through the take-over of QGC,
BG Group also operates Condamine Power
Station, which is fuelled by CSG produced
at QGC’s gasfields in the Surat Basin. With
a potential generating capacity of 140 MW,
the station provides power for the National
Electricity Market and is expected to be at
full capacity (combined cycle) operation in
late 2009.
BG Group Data Book 2009
37
AUSTRALIA