$14 million radio comms network for Qld natural gas project

Motorola Solutions has signed an AU$14.4 million contract with Queensland Gas Corporation (QGC), a BG Group company, for the supply of radio communications infrastructure for QGC’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in southern Queensland.

Motorola will provide a microwave system linking the central processing plant in the gas fields and a fully integrated TETRA radio system with a base station at each of the central processing plants, the field compression stations and the main line valve stations.

The company will also provide a TETRA radio system for QGC’s Chinchilla office, Chinchilla logistics facility and the QGC corporate office in Brisbane.

The microwave and TETRA telecommunications infrastructure will include vehicle terminals with GPS tracking, handheld terminals, desk terminals, a dispatcher console, voice recorder and battery charger. Motorola will also integrate and commission the systems.

Construction of the 28-site radio network starts early this year.  More than 3000 Motorola radios - including intrinsically safe (IS) certified digital radio handsets operating in the 450 to 470 MHz bands - will be deployed during the construction and operation phases of the project.

While most of the radio equipment will be supplied from Motorola global operations, the installation and commissioning will be done by Motorola staff from Brisbane and Melbourne, and its Queensland-based contractor, CBO.

“Availability and safety go hand in hand in the development of a radio network for any major infrastructure project, particularly when the project sites are often located in remote and potentially hazardous environments,” said Gary Starr, Managing Director, Motorola Solutions in Australia.

QGC is a leading Australian coal seam gas explorer and producer focused on supplying gas to domestic and international markets. The company is establishing one of Australia’s largest capital infrastructure projects to turn Queensland’s world-class coal seam gas reserves into liquefied natural gas. The project involves expanding exploration and development in southern and central Queensland, and transporting gas through a 540 km underground pipeline network to Curtis Island near Gladstone, where it will be liquefied.