Australia Pacific LNG announced it had commenced loading refrigerants to its Curtis Island LNG facility, marking a significant achievement in the commissioning and start up phase of the project.

Propane and ethylene, two refrigerants used to cool the natural gas into a liquid, will continue to arrive on Curtis Island over coming weeks. They play a key role in the Optimized Cascade® process, the liquefaction technology owned by Australia Pacific LNG shareholder ConocoPhillips.

Australia Pacific LNG CEO, Page Maxson, said that substantial effort had been placed on completing safety control systems and commissioning the ground flare prior to refrigerants arriving on site.

“The arrival of the refrigerants signifies a key step toward starting up the first LNG train. It enables us to meet the next milestones including test runs of the compressors, followed by final commissioning of remaining units of the first LNG train.

“Today’s achievement keeps us firmly on track for first LNG export in the second half of this calendar year,” Mr Maxson said.

Australia Pacific LNG continues strong performance in the delivery of the project, with the LNG facility firing up its gas powered generators in April, and the first phase of development and infrastructure in the gas fields nearing completion.

About Australia Pacific LNG

Australia Pacific LNG Pty Limited is an incorporated joint venture between ConocoPhillips (37.5%), Origin Energy Limited (37.5%) and Sinopec (25%). The Australia Pacific LNG project includes the development of Australia Pacific LNG’s substantial coal seam gas resources in the Surat and Bowen Basins, a 530 km transmission pipeline, and a multi-train LNG facility on Curtis Island, near Gladstone.

See the site of the Pacific LNG project