Santos GLNG said it is moving to establish a long-term workforce in Gladstone with plans to recruit 102 people for permanent ongoing roles by August.
The company said the workers will run the plant and port operations once the construction phase for the project finishes.
Downstream GLNG vice president Rod Duke said 84 of the 102 roles had already been filled by Gladstone locals.
“These talented recruits will play a critical role in ensuring the compressed gas from our pipeline is liquefied and loaded onto tankers to be shipped to export markets,” he said.
Duke conceded that workforce numbers would drop in 2015 when the project delivers its first gas, but said the company was committed to delivering more job, as well as local procurement and supply opportunities.
“Locals can be assured that we will continue to give back to the communities where we operate long after our LNG plant, 420 kilometre underground pipeline and gas hubs are built,” he said.
"Half of our 2000-strong workforce on Curtis Island is made up of Gladstone locals and we will continue to provide local employment opportunities for the Gladstone region.”
The $16 billion GLNG project has created 6,800 jobs and has spent $6 billion in Australia, of which $4 billion was in Queensland.
Santos aims to source CSG from the Bowen and Surat basins then transports it, via a 420 kilometre underground pipe, to a two-train LNG plant on Curtis Island.
First production and export is expected in 2015.