More than 20,000 new jobs are forecast to be created in Queensland’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry over the next two decades, according to BG Group’s Australian Chairman Catherine Tanna.
Speaking at the Australian American Chamber of Commerce Energy Conference in Houston, Ms Tanna explained investment in Queensland’s LNG sector is expected to lift the state’s gross domestic product by an average of $25 million per annum, create 20,000 long-term jobs and generate approximately $275 billion in royalties and taxes, as reported by Australian Mining in a February 4 article.
Individuals seeking mining and resource apprenticeships in Queensland are encouraged to consider the LNG sector for future employment opportunities as investment activity moves away from coal mining and into the LNG industry.
Over the past year, Australian coal’s commodity price index has fallen by around 10 per cent. Comparatively, the commodity price climbed by 20.5 per cent between November and December last year.
Currently BG Group is a partner stakeholder in the $20 billion QCLNG project on Gladstone’s Curtis Island. This is the first of three LNG projects in production in the area.
“Queensland’s gas basins, with much of the resource untapped, are literally bigger than Texas, and our three LNG projects will supply enough gas to power Asian cities with a total population of 80 million people for 20 years,” Ms Tanna explained.
The QCLNG project has invested in almost 2,000 wells on Curtis Island, with further plans for another 4,000 in the near future. Queensland is also expected to become home to an additional 18,000 LNG wells across the state over the next two decades.
Long-term working opportunities in operations are not the only benefit of this future investment, as construction of new projects may create a variety of development jobs and apprenticeships in Gladstone and other LNG-rich areas.
“We will require everything from maintenance and catering to engineering design, construction and enhanced information and control systems,” Ms Tanna said.
Ms Tanna believes BG Group will spend an average of $3 billion each year exclusively on the development and construction of new projects in Queensland.
Once these major LNG projects are operational in 2020, this sector is expected to account for a third of Australian production.
“Put another way, Queensland’s 25.3 million tonnes of production a year will be equivalent to 5 per cent of global supply and will eclipse Russia for sixth place internationally,” Ms Tanna concluded.
By Leanne de Toerkenczy, Public Relations Manager
