BG Group readies for first Australian LNG shipments

LONDON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A tanker designated to take the first shipments of liquefied natural gas from the Gladstone project in Australia has arrived at port, BG Group said Monday.

Project leader BG Group said the vessel Methane Rita Andrea has arrived at port, waiting outside the harbor to start loading LNG from the project on Curtis Island.

"We don't discuss the detail of our contracts but can confirm the first cargo will most likely go to a customer in Asia," a BG Group spokesman in London told UPI in response to e-mailed questions.

Asian demand for natural gas is expected to grow by as much as 8 trillion cubic feet by 2020. Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said from a recent conference in Tokyo the advent of LNG represents "a golden opportunity" for Asian economies.

Methane Rita Andrea has a storage capacity of around 5.1 million cubic feet of super-cooled gas.

The project is designed to convert coal seam natural gas to LNG for exports to the global market. It's fed by a 260-mile underground pipeline from the Bowen and Surat basins in Queensland.

"There remains work to do, but we are on schedule to start loading LNG into the first ship to carry a cargo from Curtis Island," the spokesman said.

BG Group said the project is one of the largest capital infrastructure investments in Australian history, with more than $20 billion feeding development since 2011.