QCLNG Contract Goes to ABB, Australia

ABB, power and automation technology group, said it has signed a long-term service agreement (LTSA) with QGC, a wholly owned subsidiary of BG Group, to provide planned and unplanned maintenance for the up- and mid-stream facilities at Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas (QCLNG).

The project, located in Queensland, Australia, is the world’s first to convert gas from coal-seam into liquefied natural gas.

Coal-seam gas is natural gas extracted from coal beds. It provides the same amount of energy as coal, but carbon dioxide emissions are 40 percent lower. QCLNG is a priority project for QGC because it involves expanding exploration and development in southern and central Queensland. The upstream facilities stretch across the Surat Basin, where the coal-seam gas is gathered and transported along a 540-kilometer underground pipeline, to the LNG plant on Curtis Island near Gladstone.

The contract value is $33 million over four years, booked in the third and fourth quarter, with potential for extending the service term up to a period of 10 years. ABB is to provide comprehensive services including an on-site team to maintain ABB’s Extended Automation System 800xA Integrated Control and Safety Systems (ICSS). The contract also covers spare parts management for QCLNG’s upstream collection and transportation facility as well as for the midstream liquefaction and export facility.

“This important contract affirms our strong and long-standing relationship with QGC, which is one of our key customers,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, Head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “We are proud to continue working for this important oil and gas project, and one of our key priorities will be to help our customer reach its production targets in a flawless way.”

In 2011, ABB was awarded a $58 million order from QGC to provide, as main automation contractor (MAC), integrated automation, safety and telecommunications systems and related equipment for the upstream coal-seam gas project.

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LNG World News Staff, November 19, 2013; Image: ABB