Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas

JTA's skills are demonstrated through the work done over several years on the high-profile $20billion Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) project. JTA delivered communication and consultation services during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) phase of the most complex infrastructure project in Queensland's history and then worked on other stages of the project.

Each project area (extracting coal seam gas from Santos' reserves in and around the Surat and Bowen Basin gas fields, constructing a 435km pipeline to Gladstone and a liquefaction facility at Curtis Island off Gladstone) could have required an EIS in its own right because of the community impacts and complexity of issues.

Each geographic location has its own stakeholders, issues and concerns and local networks. In response, JTA developed customised strategies to engage and inform communities that reflected their desired level of involvement and preferred means of receiving project information.

JTA faced a number of unique challenges. Coal seam gas was then a new industry to the east coast of Australia. While the economic benefits to the state and local economies may be considerable, so is the range of community concerns and issues stemming from perceived project risks and potential environmental implications.

JTA identified the need for community education and awareness of liquefied natural gas to address concerns and misconceptions and enable an effective EIS consultation process., Working closely with Santos staff to address issues on a community-by-community basis, JTA implemented project communication and consultation activities that reached an estimated 180,000 stakeholders.

These activities ranged from targeted one-on-one briefings, issue-specific workshops, community information sessions and meetings, to mass communication activities such as fact sheets, newsletters, advertising, web text, direct mail, events and sponsorship management. The program maximised project awareness and opportunities for stakeholder input.  

The GLNG project met all government requirements and the liquefaction plant has now been operating for several years.