Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan has welcomed today’s announcement from Australia Pacific LNG that production has started from the second train at its Curtis Island facility near Gladstone.

“This major milestone provides an important boost to Australia’s export capacity and sets us on track to become the world’s largest exporter of LNG,” Minister Canavan said.

“It will also deliver a sustained and reliable energy source to domestic and key international markets like Japan and China.

“As the third Queensland LNG project to begin production from a second train, the $25 billion APLNG project demonstrates the extent to which the Australian resources sector underpins the national economy and drives growth.

“The Queensland LNG industry exceeds $1 billion in production value a year and has created around 20 000 long term jobs.

“It has also provided an economic boost for regional communities in the Surat and Bowen Basins, as well as Gladstone.

“Queensland is a powerhouse for natural gas and LNG. In the five years to 2015, the CSG industry has directly contributed $10.6 billion to the state’s economy.

“Nationally, the oil and gas industry contributes around 2 per cent of GDP and the sector’s economic contribution is expected grow to $70 billion by 2020.

“Recent forecasts estimate the value of Australia’s LNG exports will increase by 41 per cent to $23 billion in 2016–17, supported by higher LNG prices and export volumes.

“The Australian Government will continue to put in place policies that drive our prosperity and encourage ongoing investment and jobs growth in this sector.”