Leighton Contractors’ work on the Curtis Island project, which has been under construction since November 2011, has reached completion.

Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) engaged Bechtel as the primary engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the downstream works, for the production of coal seam gas on Curtis Island, off the coast of Gladstone in Central Queensland.

In November 2011, Bechtel initially awarded Leighton Contractors an $84 million lump sum building contract for work on Curtis Island, which eventually led to additional scope, with work packages worth over $180 million.

The APLNG project is valued at over $20 billion.

Leighton Contractors commenced site work on Curtis Island in January 2012. The initial scope included the construction and installation of a 2,600 bed accommodation village that provided sleeping quarters, food services and dining areas, as well as recreational areas, for the project’s workforce. On completion, it became the largest village on Curtis Island and one of the largest workforce villages constructed in Australia.

Leighton Contractors delivered the original contract works three months ahead of schedule, on budget and with outstanding quality results. As recognition of this performance, Bechtel awarded various additional work packages to the value of $180 million.

These included site civil preparation works (earthworks, site drainage, roads, fencing, geotechnical services, and landscaping/ ground treatment), in-ground services, heavy duty concrete paving works, permanent plant operations buildings, supply and haulage of quarry materials and general fill, remediation works from cyclone events, maintenance of site power and facilities, hard stands, laydowns and gravel sheeting, and various minor packages such as footpaths and piping works.

The potential for delays during the wet season was high. Undertaking construction in the wet season, especially with severe cyclone events, was a major challenge for the project. Due to the logistical challenges of transporting and the sourcing of materials, planning was critical. Rather than wet weather days being non-productive, time was spent planning ahead and optimising work sequences and methodologies so that time lost to inclement weather could be regained in future works.

Employing 520 people at its peak, the project also on-boarded and contracted over 70 different subcontractors.

From project start, the team worked tirelessly to develop strong relationships with ConocoPhillips and Bechtel, and worked collaboratively to ensure best for project outcomes.

Bechtel Contracts Manager, Daniel McLuskie, said: “Leighton Contractors’ approach to the project provided a cornerstone of strength in the form of certainty of outcome.

“This certainty of outcome was achieved through a collaborative approach by the leadership team, which accomplished not only the on-time completion of the original base scope of work, but also the timely completion of challenging additional works critical to the overall success of the project.

About Leighton Contractors

Leighton Contractors is one of Australia’s most recognised and successful infrastructure companies. We have more than 14,000 people delivering projects and providing services to the construction, industrial, energy, health, telecommunications and services sectors.

See the site of the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project