1st LNG cargo from Gorgon Project to ship this week

Chevron Corporation announced on 7 March that it has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and condensate at the Gorgon Project on Barrow Island off the northwest coast of Western Australia. The first LNG cargo is expected to ship this week.

The $54 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project is the largest resource development in Australia’s history. Operated by Chevron, it is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3 percent), ExxonMobil (25 percent), Shell (25 percent), Osaka Gas (1.25 percent), Tokyo Gas (1 percent) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417 percent).

The Gorgon Project is supplied from the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields, located within the Greater Gorgon area, between 130 km (80 miles) and 220 km (136 miles) off the northwest coast of Western Australia. It includes a 15.6 MTPA LNG plant on Barrow Island, a carbon dioxide injection project and a domestic gas plant with the capacity to supply 300 terajoules of gas per day to Western Australia. 

“The long-term fundamentals for LNG are attractive, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, and this is a significant milestone for all involved,” said Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson. “We congratulate the Gorgon workforce on this achievement. This is the result of the collaboration of hundreds of suppliers and contractors and many tens of thousands of people across the world during the project design and construction phases.”

The development is expected to reach full capacity at its three production facilities, known as trains, by the second half of 2017. Australia is forecast to overtake Qatar in 2018 to become the world’s largest LNG exporter, according to the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association. At the end of the decade, Australia will have 10 gas-export projects producing more than 85 million metric tons a year of LNG.

With the launch of Gorgon, Chevron is positioned to become a major LNG supplier by 2020. In particular, Chevron’s Australian projects are well located to meet growing demand for energy in the Asia-Pacific region and more than 80 percent of Chevron’s Australian subsidiaries’ equity LNG from the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects is covered by sales and purchase agreements and heads of agreements with customers in the region.

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, and through its Australian subsidiaries has been present in Australia for more than 60 years. Chevron Australia leads the development of the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas projects; manages its equal one-sixth interest in the North West Shelf Venture; operates Australia’s largest onshore oilfield on Barrow Island, and is a significant investor in exploration offshore Australia.