Ambre Update 1

Published on 31/01/2011

Ambre Update - Edition 1

Welcome to the first edition of Ambre Update, a new monthly column to inform and update the community about ambreCTL, a proposal to build Australia’s first commercial coal-to liquids project near Pittsworth, Queensland.

This column is an opportunity for us to keep you posted on topics such as timelines, recent and future environmental studies, and government approvals.

For those who have not heard about our proposal, ambreCTL (a subsidiary of Ambre Energy) will convert local coal to unleaded petrol and LPG, which will be available for domestic use. The project will involve constructing:

  • a coal-to-liquids facility which will produce 940 million litres per year (ML/yr) of high quality unleaded petrol and 150 ML/yr of LPG 
  • an adjoining open-cut coal mine to supply four million tonnes per annum of feed coal to the facility.

Coal from the mine will undergo a gasification process to produce a syngas for conversion to methanol. Methanol will then be converted to high quality unleaded petrol using ExxonMobil technology.

The project will have many economic benefits for Queensland and will help to provide fuel security by reducing Queensland’s reliance on petroleum products and oil imported from overseas.

By 2015, ambreCTL could meet more than 20% of Queensland’s demand for unleaded petrol and LPG.

At peak construction ambreCTL will create an estimated 1,880 jobs in Queensland and sustain around 530 permanent jobs in the area during operation. When operational, ambreCTL is projected to increase total employment Australia-wide by around 1,600 jobs per year.

We look forward to your continued involvement in the Environmental Impact Assessment process. If you have any questions, please contact us using the details below: