Gas project will secure jobs

Shell Aust/QGC joint venture plans Surat Basin project

A NEW Surat Basin gas project will increase domestic supply and secure 350 jobs during its peak 16-month construction period.

Shell Australia announced yesterday its QGC joint venture was continuing its investment in Queensland with the drilling of up to 161 additional wells.

It is a move that enables further supply to both domestic customers and natural gas exports.

Project Ruby expands on QGC’s operations in the Surat Basin and will underpin 350 new and existing jobs in regional Queensland during peak construction and sustain QGC’s gas production as older wells decline.

Shell chairman Andrew Smith said this latest project was the company’s way of continuing to supply gas into the east coast market while protecting valuable export jobs in regional Australia.

“This is the next significant milestone for the QGC project and a further vote of confidence in Queensland’s onshore gas industry,” he said.

“We are proud to be investing in regional Queensland, where state and local government have had the vision to establish the rules for a gas industry that creates jobs and supports farmers by providing water, building new roads and paying taxes.

“During construction the Queensland gas industry created more than 40,000 jobs and even today after construction has been completed it employs 13,000 people.”

The new wells will be drilled in 2017 and 2018 in QGC’s existing tenements in south-west Queensland.

Discussions with landholders are under way about access conditions and compensation, as well as the location of wells and infrastructure.

The Queensland Government welcomed the announcement and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the project would sustain QGC’s gas production as older wells came off peak production.

“The project is a gas field development program that supplies domestic and LNG markets,” she said.

The premier said during the past two years, the government had stabilised electricity prices from the 43% increases under the previous government.

Minister for Natural Resources Anthony Lynham said ongoing investment in Queensland’s $70 billion CSG-LNG industry showed policy settings were right.

“This is good news for gas supplies and jobs in Queensland,” he said.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane agreed that it was yet another sign that Queensland was getting on with business.

“The QRC is pleased that Queensland is leading the way when it comes to working to address the problem of the east coast gas shortage,” he said.

“This significant milestone is also a vote of confidence in the onshore gas industry.”