Australia Pacific LNG Ships First Cargo

The Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project shipped its first cargo, co-owner Origin Energy Ltd said on Monday, following a delay of at least two weeks, with another cargo waiting to be loaded.

The Methane Spirit, the ship carrying the trial cargo, left Curtis Island off Gladstone in Queensland on Saturday, a milestone for the A$25 billion ($17 billion) project, the third coal seam gas-to-LNG plant to open on the island over the past year.

The nine million tons-a-year plant is operated by ConocoPhillips, co-owner of the project with Origin, which supplies gas to the plant, and China's Sinopec Corp.

Australia Pacific LNG CEO, Page Maxson, said the departure of the LNG vessel marks over four years of planning and construction since making the final investment decision. “This achievement is testament to an extraordinary amount of work completed by co-venturers Origin Energy, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec, a multitude of key contractors, including Bechtel, and a 15,000-strong workforce.

“With our domestic customer portfolio, the start of Train 1 and the first export of LNG, Australia Pacific LNG has become the largest producer of natural gas in Eastern Australia. This position will only be strengthened as we expect to reach full production from two LNG trains by the end of 2016.”

The delay in loading the first ship has led to hefty costs for China's Sinopec Corp, which has had a ship, the BW Pavilion Vanda, waiting off Gladstone since December 18 to carry the plant's first commercial cargo.

Most of APLNG's output is locked into long-term take-or-pay contracts to Sinopec and Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co.