Japan's Toyota Tsusho Corporation has signed a sales agreement with BG Group subsidiary Walloons Coal Seam Gas Company to supply it with coalbed methane from the ATP651P block for a period of 20 years, TTC said in a statement Tuesday.
The CBM will serve as feed gas for BG's Queensland Curtis LNG project.
BG Group's Australian subsidiary, QGC, is developing gas fields in Queensland to supply its 8.5 million mt/year LNG plant on Curtis Island in Gladstone. The Queensland Curtis LNG project was sanctioned October 2010 and is expected to begin producing in 2014.
According to the statement, TTC also made the decision to engage in the CBM development program at ATP651P with about A$300 million ($303 million) in investments including the acquisition price.
TTC acquired a 15% equity stake in the ATP651P block in March 2010 for A$98.5 million. The CBM block is situated in Queensland's Surat Basin and is operated by QGC.
The ATP651P block could supply over 10% of the total input required at the start of the Queensland Curtis LNG project.
"TTC believes, by developing ATP651P, this CBM Sales Agreement could contribute to the procurement of a stable and flexible LNG supply for Japan," the statement said.
