Brisbane
**check against delivery
This is a significant day for the Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas Project and for Sinopec.
Today's agreement is Australia's biggest single LNG contract when measured by annual volume. The 4.3 million tonnes per annum contract has a total volume of approximately 85 million tonnes over 20 years.
I congratulate Origin Energy, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec for reaching this milestone.
I also welcome Sinopec's first sales contract and equity stake in an LNG project in Australia.
This deal further emphasises Australia's role as a world leader in the coal seam gas to LNG industry.
We now have a new LNG industry on Australia's east coast, with Gladstone emerging as an important LNG hub.
This industry is creating economic opportunities for many Australians.
Queensland's coal seam gas LNG projects have the potential to generate investment of more than $50 billion.
That's on top of the hundreds of billions in exports, and tens of thousands of jobs.
This project alone will create 6,000 jobs during peak construction and 1,000 ongoing positions in regional Queensland.
It also creates new training opportunities for young Australians to work in well paid and high skill regional jobs.
Trade with China
The agreement is another example of Australia's growing trade relationship with China.
Energy and resources are the backbone of that trade relationship, and play a big part in underpinning China's long-term growth.
Altogether, China is the second-largest investor in Australia with $26 billion invested here in 2008-09.
As a capital hungry nation with rapidly expanding resource and energy sectors we welcome and encourage this investment.
Just as we are investing in new LNG production, China is rapidly expanding its LNG receiving capacity to meet its growing demand for cleaner energy sources.
China is now our second-largest customer for LNG, and this deal with Sinopec brings new and existing LNG contracts with China to over 15 million tonnes a year.
The 2010 World Energy Outlook forecasts that China's demand for gas could increase by 5.9 per cent per annum between 2008 and 2035.
This compares to OECD demand growth of 0.5 per cent per annum over this period.
This growth would take China from 2.7 per cent of global gas consumption in 2008 to 8.7 per cent by 2035.
Australia's proximity and history as a secure supplier means that we are well placed to meet the energy needs of our Asian neighbours, including China, in the decades ahead.
Australia is committed to strengthening this relationship and working together for both countries' economic growth.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, Australia is a reliable and secure supplier of energy resources to China and to the world.
Today's vote of confidence in our industry builds on that proud record.
I wish the partners every success.
Thank you