Worldwide demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will almost double to between 350 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and 400 mtpa by 2020 compared with about 200 mpta currently, global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell says.
Queenslands booming coal seam gas-to-LNG sector was entering a new phase of growth and investment and would play a major role in meeting rising demand for the fuel, Shell senior executive Anne Pickard said.
Ms Pickard, who is executive vice-president of Shell Upstream Internationals Australian arm, said the energy giant remained hopeful that it would complete its proposed multi-billion-dollar joint takeover of Brisbane-based CSG producer Arrow Energy that was being undertaken with PetroChina.
She also said Australia represented the key plank in Shells push to boost its LNG output.
Globally, we aim to add around 15 million tonnes per year of LNG capacity by 2020, and much of that effort and investment will be focused in Australia, making us one of the biggest investors in the country, Ms Pickard told the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association Ltd conference in Brisbane today. If the (Arrow) transaction is completed, we will be in a position, through Arrow, to establish an integrated CSG-LNG operation.
It will bring together Arrows expertise as a leading coal seam gas operator, Shells LNG know-how, and PetroChinas access to the Chinese energy market.
We are excited about this project (Arrows Curtis Island LNG project at Gladstone) and hope the joint acquisition is successful.
The deal requires shareholder, legal and government approvals.
Ms Pickard said Shell, as a joint venture partner in the contentious Woodside Petroleum-operated Sunrise project in the Timor Sea, was committed to working with all stakeholders, both in East Timor and Australia, to demonstrate the significant value and opportunities this development would bring.
Woodside has decided to use floating LNG processing vessels for Sunrise, despite the Timor government arguing a plant should be on Timor shores.
Shell is set to be the first company to employ floating LNG-processing technology at its Prelude project in Western Australias Browse Basin
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