OREANDA-NEWS. BG Group, a world leader in exploration and LNG, announced that it has been loading the first cargo of LNG from its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility since 28 December. The vessel being loaded is the Methane Rita Andrea. The second cargo of LNG from the facility will be loaded onto the Methane Mickie Harper which is expected in Gladstone in the first week of January.

QCLNG is the world's first LNG project to be supplied by coal seam gas. The start of production from the plant's first LNG train is the result of more than four years of development and construction on Curtis Island.

Andrew Gould, interim Executive Chairman commented:

"This is an immense achievement which demonstrates the company's ability to deliver a highly complex LNG project. The start-up of QCLNG is testament to the hard work, skill and dedication of all our employees, partners and customers including the thousands of individuals who have been involved in physically building the plant. The ongoing support from both the State Government of Queensland and the local councils of our upstream region and in Gladstone has also been pivotal in this development. We thank them all."

The project will expand further with the start-up of the second train in the third quarter of 2015. At plateau production, expected during 2016, QCLNG will have an output of around 8 million tonnes of LNG a year.