Australian LNG terminal targets growth

Australian Industrial Energy (AIE) has lodged a modification to its existing development consent for its Port Kembla LNG Terminal, awarded development consent in May. The modification request seeks to increase the number of annual LNG cargoes received at the terminal from 26 shipments of standard-sized vessels (170,000 cubic metres) to up to 46 shipments of variable sized vessels to reflect the variability in demand.

The increase of up to 20 shipments represents an approximate 2% increase in the number of vessels that visit Port Kembla each year. The project’s FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit), which will remain moored at Port Kembla’s Berth 101 to receive, store and send out LNG, will not need to be modified as it has the capacity to handle the extra throughput.

As part of the modification process, AIE will be required to undertake additional environmental and hazard studies which will then be assessed by New South Wales (NSW) government agencies.

AIE said that whilst this is expected to extend the completion timeline, the request for additional volume reinforces the project’s critical importance as a solution to the nation’s near-term gas supply challenges.

As first flagged to the NSW government in August, AIE’s customers have expressed that their gas demands during peak season (typically between April and September) exceed the volume approved in the current Consent granted by the NSW Department of Planning.