Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh officially launched work on the $16 billion Santos Liquefied Natural Gas Project near Gladstone today.
The project, which is one of Australia's largest energy projects, is expected to generate $9 billion a year in exports and create more than 5,000 construction jobs and nearly 1,000 long term operational positions.
Speaking at the site of the project, the Prime Minister said it was a significant day for the people of Gladstone and Queensland, as well as Santos and its partners.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will play an important part in the global transition towards a cleaner energy future.
Australia is currently the world's fourth largest exporter of LNG and projects such as this one are projected to take this ranking to second by 2015.
The Gladstone project demonstrates the global attractiveness of Australia as an investment destination and as a reliable trading partner for energy commodities.
It is further evidence of the important role LNG has to play as we transition to cleaner fuel sources.
The Gladstone project will create jobs for Australians and deliver significant local, state and national economic benefits.
The project will also generate new training opportunities. Eighteen Masters degree scholarships will be offered at the University College London's campus in Adelaide as part of the project.
These new scholarships, jointly sponsored by Santos, KOGAS and UCL, build on Santos' existing $10 million contribution to establish UCL's School of Energy and Resources.
The Gladstone LNG Project is subject to more than 300 Commonwealth environmental conditions, in addition to those imposed by the Queensland Government.
The first cargo from the Gladstone Liquefied natural gas project is scheduled to be exported from 2015.
This project will be joint venture between Australian company Santos, Malaysia's PETRONAS, Total of France, and KOGAS of Korea (subject to regulatory approval).
Further information about the project is available at http://www.glng.com.au.