Santos starts production from second Gladstone LNG train

Production from the second and final LNG train marks the successful delivery of the Curtis Island project.

Santos has started producing LNG from its second and final train at Curtis Island near Gladstone in Queensland.

LNG production from its first train began on September 1 last year, with Santos’ $19 billion GLNG joint-venture project exporting its first LNG cargo last October.

Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the start of production on train two was another milestone for GLNG and marked the successful delivery of the two-train project, which has already produced more than two million tonnes of LNG and shipped 32 cargoes.

When fully operational, Santos GLNG will have the capacity to produce 7.8m tonnes of LNG each year.

Santos had expected train two to be available for start-up as early as late last year.

The company has endured 12 months of upheaval, posting a $2.7bn full-year loss in February amid oil-price pain and a chief executive switch late last year.

Santos is the operator and has a 30 per cent interest in GLNG. The other joint-venturer partners are Malaysia’s Petronas (27.5 per cent), France’s Total (27.5 per cent) and South Korea’s Kogas (15 per cent).

The GLNG train two start-up adds to Santos’ LNG portfolio, which also includes the Darwin LNG and PNG LNG projects.