Australian federal government approves Chevron's LNG Wheatstone Project in Western Australia; foundation phase will include two LNG trains with combined capacity of 8.9 million tons/year, domestic gas plant

Rachel Carter

SAN RAMON, California , September 22, 2011 (press release) – Approval marks important milestone ahead of a final investment decision

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) today welcomed Australian Commonwealth Government approval by the Federal Environment Minister, the Hon. Tony Burke, MP, for its Wheatstone Project in Western Australia.

“The Wheatstone Project is one of Australia’s largest resource projects and is ideally situated to process natural gas produced by Chevron-operated permits, and third parties, from the prolific western Carnarvon basin, one of Australia’s most prospective areas for energy development.”

George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron Corporation, said, “We welcome the Australian federal government’s support for the Wheatstone Project. The federal environmental approval is an important milestone in reaching the final investment decision for the Wheatstone Project this year.”

The foundation phase of the project will consist of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tons per annum (MTPA) and a domestic gas plant. It is scheduled to start production in 2016. The environmental approval allows the project capacity to increase to 25 MTPA.

Melody Meyer, president, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company, said, “Wheatstone and the previously sanctioned Gorgon project position Chevron as a major LNG operator delivering energy, jobs and economic benefits to Australia, as well as helping to meet long-term demand growth for cleaner burning fuel in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Roy Krzywosinski, managing director, Chevron Australia, said, “The Wheatstone Project is one of Australia’s largest resource projects and is ideally situated to process natural gas produced by Chevron-operated permits, and third parties, from the prolific western Carnarvon basin, one of Australia’s most prospective areas for energy development.”

The plant site is located in the Western Australian State Government’s Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Area, approximately 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) south of Onslow on the Pilbara coast.

The Wheatstone onshore foundation project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (operator 73.6%), Apache (13%), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (7%) and Shell (6.4%).

Chevron is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company's success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of its employees and their application of the most innovative technologies in the world. Chevron is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. The company explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.