Chevron promotes Wheatstone to development status

Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent

MELBOURNE, Mar. 10 -- Chevron Australia Pty. Ltd. reported plans to develop its wholly owned 2004 Wheatstone gas field discovery on the North West Shelf as a stand-alone LNG project with facilities placed on the northwest coast of mainland Western Australia.

The company says the initial plan is to establish a 5 million tonne/year LNG facility and allow for later expansion of additional trains. The plant would also produce gas for the domestic market.

Preliminary engineering and design on the project is under way, and front-end engineering and design should commence next year.

Wheatstone field, which has estimated gas reserves of 4.5 tcf, lies on retention lease WA-17R about 145 km off Dampier in 200 m of water.

The news of a stand-alone development has puzzled the industry in Australia because discovery the field had been touted more as a potential gas-to-liquids project than LNG.

Its close proximity to the North Rankin and Goodwyn fields also makes it a logical addition to the Woodside-operated North West Shelf LNG project (of which Chevron is a participant) rather than a new greenfield LNG project in the same vicinity.

In addition, at one point Wheatstone was suggested as a candidate for development alongside Woodside's nearby Pluto field, possibly as a supply of gas for Pluto 2's second train LNG development.

Chevron appears to have rejected those options. The company says it currently is preparing design studies at Wheatstone for development and production, site evaluation and further field appraisal work.