Chevron Australia has announced constriction will begin immediately on the company’s Wheatstone LNG Project at Ashburton North on the Pilbara Coast.

 

The foundation phase of the project is estimated at $29 billion and will consist of two L NG processing trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tonnes per annum, as well as a domestic gas plan and associated offshore infrastructure including a processing platform, subsea equipment, drilling and export trunkline. Production is estimated to begin in 2016.

 

Melody Meyer, president, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company, said the Wheatstone Project will boost Australia’s position as a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) player on the world energy stage and support Asia Pacific’s rapid growth with cleaner burning fuel.

 

“Wheatstone’s go-ahead will provide vital supplies of natural gas to Australia and the region. Combined with the Gorgon LNG project, this further enhances Chevron’s position as a leading supplier of natural gas in the Asia-Pacific region,” Meyer said.

 

Roy Krzywosinski, managing director, Chevron Australia, said, “The Wheatstone Project will deliver an estimated 6,500 direct and indirect jobs during peak construction, generate an estimated $20 billion in government revenue, and provide an estimated $17 billion to Australian businesses and services over the project life.”

 

The announcement by Chevron comes after the Federal Government recently granted the site environmental approval.

 

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 (KUFPEC 7%) and Shell (6.4%).