Chevron is going ahead with the second phase of its Gorgon LNG export plant in Western Australia, it confirmed on Saturday.
The US oil major said Gorgon Stage Two was necessary to maintain long-term natural gas supply to the 15.6mt per annum (mtpa) LNG plant and domestic gas plant on Barrow Island.
This planned future development phase at the Gorgon natural gas facility involves new wells in the Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields, and accompanying offshore production pipelines and subsea structures.
The latest phase of the large-scale gas project, which is situated 150 km off the Western Australia coast, is estimated to costseveral billion dollars and create hundreds of jobs in the resources sector.
“Our world-class natural gas facilities have transformed Chevron into a leading and reliable supplier of cleaner-burning natural gas to customers in the region,” said Chevron Australia managing director Nigel Hearne.
“Benefits are expected to flow through to Australian industry, arising from local project management, drilling and completion activities and subsea infrastructure installation,” Hearne added.
The Chevron-operated Gorgon Project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), with minor stakes held by Japan’s Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and JERA.
The offshore Gorgon project is one of the largest and costliest energy projects in the world, costing over $69bn.
It reportedly employed around 10,000 people during the construction of the processing facility at Barrow Island.
