The second train of the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facility in Australia has loaded its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo onto the Maran Gas Posidonia, operator BG Group plc said Monday. “The start-up of QCLNG’s second LNG train is another important operational milestone delivered in line with our plan,” said BG Group CEO Helge Lund. “We have already shipped more than 1.5 million tonnes of LNG from Queensland, and Train 2 will add significant further volumes and flexibility to our LNG shipping and marketing portfolio.” At plateau production, expected mid-2016, both trains at QCLNG will be producing enough LNG to load 10 vessels per month combined, exporting eight million tonnes per year, BG said. Since production from the first train began in December, 27 cargoes have been shipped. BG Group began commercial operations last May, when control of Train 1 formally transferred to QGC, BG Group’s Australian subsidiary, from terminal constructor Bechtel Australia. Train 2 commercial operations are to begin once a similar commissioning process has been completed. In April Royal Dutch Shell plc said it agreed to acquire UK-based BG Group in a deal worth about US$69.6 billion and largely focused on natural gas and LNG (see Daily GPI, April 8). U.S. regulators approved the deal in June (see Daily GPI, June, 17).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has authorized additional free trade agreement (FTA) country exports from the Cameron LNG LLC Terminal in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes in Louisiana. “In granting Cameron LNG’s application, we find that the authorized export volume (515 Bcf/year) is additive to the volumes of LNG from Trains 1-3 previously authorized by DOE/FE for export to FTA countries in DOE/FE Order No. 3059 [FE Docket No. 11-145-LNG] and Order No. 3620 [FE Docket No. 14-204-LNG], which together are equivalent to 772 Bcf/year of natural gas,” DOE/FE said [15-36-LNG]. “Accordingly, the grant of this order — Cameron LNG’s third long-term FTA export authorization — brings its total authorized FTA export volume to 1,287 Bcf/year from Trains 1-5 of the terminal.” The project currently consists of Trains 1-3, and has an existing interconnection with Cameron LNG affiliate Cameron Interstate Pipeline LLC. Once constructed, Trains 4 and 5 will increase the facility’s capacity by 515 Bcf/year. Cameron LNG is a project of Sempra LNG and is under construction (see Daily GPI, Feb. 24).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has scheduled the environmental review for Rockies Express Pipeline LLC‘s (REX) Zone 3 Capacity Enhancement Project. An environmental assessment is to be issued by Aug. 31 with a decision on the project to be made by Nov. 29. The project would add 800,000 Dth/d of eastbound capacity to the pipeline’s Zone 3. But before then, REX is expected to bring online Aug. 1 a project to enable the flow of 1.8 Bcf/d bidirectionally between the Clarington Hub and the Moultrie interconnect with Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (see Daily GPI, June 24, 2014) in Zone 3. The Capacity Enhancement Project would include construction of two compressor stations and auxiliary facilities in Pickaway and Fayette counties in Ohio and one compressor station in Decatur County, IN. The pipeline would also add additional horsepower and auxiliary facilities at its Chandlersville Compressor Station in Muskingum County, OH, along with auxiliary facilities at its Hamilton Compressor Station in Warren County, OH.

Noble Energy Inc. plans to close Rosetta Resources Inc.’s headquarters in downtown Houston when the $2.1 billion merger announced last May closes this summer (see Shale Daily, May 11). According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter sent to the Texas Workforce Commission, the deal is expected to close on July 20. The WARN letter said the merger will affect 306 jobs. According to reports, 11 executives at Rosetta will be resigning, 65 will be permanently laid off and the remaining 230 will be transferred to Noble’s headquarters in northwest Houston.

GE Oil & Gashas shipped two liquefied natural gas (LNG) compressor trains for Dominion‘s Cove Point LNG Export facility, currently under construction by IHI E&C International Corp. and Kiewit Energy Co. The LNG Liquefaction plant located on the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby, MD, will produce about 5.25 million metric tons of LNG annually when completed in late 2017 and will be the first LNG terminal capable of exporting LNG on the U.S. East Coast (see Daily GPI, May 7). Each of the two identical trains includes an FR7 Gas Turbine plus three centrifugal compressors and a 20 MW two-pole induction electric helper motor provided by GE’s Power Conversion business. GE will also provide two auxiliary trains for Cove Point.