Construction of the Darwin Liquefied Natural Gas commenced in June 2003 and the plant was commissioned in the first quarter 2006 when LNG sales commenced. 

The Darwin LNG plant uses the ConocoPhillips LNG Process as the basis for its LNG liquefaction technology. This technology was first used in 1969 in ConocoPhillips’ Kenai LNG plant in Alaska.

The Darwin LNG plant has introduced several firsts in the evolution of LNG liquefaction technology.  The Kenai LNG Project set the trend for the LNG industry when it was the first LNG plant to use gas turbines for refrigerant compressor drivers in place of the traditional steam turbines. The Darwin LNG plant continues to build on this history of innovation by being the first LNG plant to use high efficiency, low emission, aero-derivative gas turbines as refrigerant drivers.

The Darwin LNG plant also incorporates several other design features to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One such feature is the waste heat recovery on the gas turbine exhaust that is used for various heating requirements within the plant.  Additional equipment has been installed to recover vapours generated from the LNG ships during LNG loading to reduce emissions. The Darwin LNG plant minimises nitrogen oxide emissions from the gas turbines by the injection of water into the gas turbines.

The Darwin LNG facility has a single tank for LNG storage.  This is one of the largest above-ground LNG tanks constructed to date with a working capacity of 188,000 cubic metres.  The facility has a ground flare instead of a conventional stack to minimize visual effects from the facility and any intrusion on aviation traffic in the Darwin area.