Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Sept. 27 -- Perth industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd. plans to build a $138 million (Aus.), 175-tonne/day LNG terminal and regasification plant in Kwinana, south of Perth in Western Australia. The plant will supply natural gas for heavy-duty trucks as well as domestic industrial and electric power generation markets.
The company says that several years of trials involving 70 trucks traveling more than 12 million km around Australia, has shown that LNG is a viable alternative to diesel fuel.
Construction of the Wesfarmers plant is scheduled to begin in November and come on stream in early 2008.
During the first 10 years of plant operation, Santos Ltd. will supply up to 37 petajoules of gas feedstock from its 45% share of production in the John Brookes gas field operated by Apache Energy Australia in the offshore Carnarvon basin. Gas deliveries will be via the Dampier-Bunbury gas trunkline.