Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Aug. 12 -- The Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon-Jansz LNG and domestic gas project proposed for Barrow Island off Western Australia has received a double boost this week by first securing final environmental approval from the Western Australian government and then by receiving confirmation of India’s Petronet LNG as a foundation customer.
The project now only needs Australian federal government environmental approval before the Australian consortium of Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell PLC moves to a final investment decision.
Western Australia government approval came after the group agreed that conditions set by State Environment Minister Donna Faragher last month will be met.
Consequently the group has earmarked an additional $30 million (Aus.) to the existing $32.5 million commitment to establish a North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program as well as another $20 million to the $40 million Net Conservation Benefits program. This brings the group’s total commitment in environmental pledges to $190 million.
This week also saw closure of a deal between ExxonMobil and Petronet announced last May for Petronet to purchase 1.5 million tonnes/year of LNG over 20 years from the project. It marks Australia’s first long-term sale of LNG to India.
It could provide impetus for the other partners to finalize their separate agreements that so far are nonbinding.
These include Chevron’s agreements with three Japanese utility companies and GS Caltex in South Korea for about 70% of its share of the LNG production, and Shell’s reported agreement to sell 2 million tpy over 20 years to PetroChina.
The Greater Gorgon project will produce 15 million tpy of LNG from three trains on Barrow Island as well as 300 terajoules/day from a domestic gas plant connected by pipeline to the mainland.