Challenges, Opportunities and Design Impacts for Different Construction Methods on Curtis Island LNG Jetties, Australia

The demand for energy in South East Asia and the Pacific region has seen vast growth in gas exploration across the continent of Australia. With the approval of a number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities across the Australian seaboard, Arup Australasia has put its multi-disciplinary capabilities to full use in the delivery of a number of LNG Jetties in Gladstone, Queensland in a design and construct collaboration with contractor John Holland Group (JHG). Three LNG jetties were constructed within 1.5km of each other with overlapping construction programmes. While there were many common approaches to the design of the jetties, all three were different in important ways – this paper illustrates why this was so.

Marine construction methods often influence the permanent works design for which the importance of early constructability considerations is significant. The temporary works design and planning across the three projects required particular attention during the detailed design phase. Careful coordination between Arup’s structural design team, John Holland’s construction planning team and temporary works designers was vital in achieving a solution that achieved both the design intent and that could be constructed safely and efficiently.