Construction of 540km of steel piping that will transport CSG gas from the gas fields in the Surat and Bowin basins an LNG facility on Curtis Island has started in Queensland.

 

Two welding crews consisting of 120 people, including welders and construction support staff, will perform automatic welding both internally and externally, joining pipe up to 18 metres in length. The crews will aim to complete up to 2.25km of pipe per day during construction.

 

Australia Pacific LNG Pipelines Project Manager Graeme Hogarth said the commencement of construction works is a major milestone for the Project and the culmination of almost three years of planning.

 

“The main transmission pipeline is the third critical component of this major CSG to LNG project and represents a major gear shift in project activity,” Mr Hogarth said.

 

“We expect construction to take approximately 18 months with the pipeline divided into sections. It normally takes between three and six months for the construction stage of each section of the pipeline.”

 

Construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014.