SYDNEY, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government said on Friday that it has approved an expansion of a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the state of Queensland.
Madeleine King, the minister for Resources, said on Friday that the approved expansion will enable the Australia Pacific LNG project (APLNG) to build and operate gas infrastructure in Queensland's Surat and Bowen basins until 2081.
The expansion will involve the construction of up to 1,695 new gas production wells and 1,545 km of pipelines, with LNG to be produced for domestic and export markets.
The two basins located about 380 km northwest of Brisbane hold Australia's largest known proven reserves of natural gas.
According to APLNG, the project is already the largest producer of natural gas in eastern Australia.
Approval for the expansion is subject to over 120 conditions covering threatened species, environmental audits, chemical risk assessments and water resource protections.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026. ■
