Western Australia Advances Wheatstone LNG

- Western Australia Advances Wheatstone LNG

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Government of Western Australia

Final environmental approval has been given for Onslow's Wheatstone LNG development.

Environment Minister Bill Marmion said approval was granted with 25 conditions protecting marine fauna, including whales, turtles and dugongs.

Approval followed the Minister's consultation with the ministers for State Development; Lands; Planning; and Indigenous Affairs, as required under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

Significantly, the environmental conditions require:

• immediate suspension to dredging if coral outside defined zones is damaged
• no blasting at night during peak nesting and hatching seasons for marine turtles and no piling activity at night during the southern whale migration when humpbacks are travelling with their calves
• $13million in environmental offsets, including $3.5million over four years to improve management of critical habitats for humpback whales, dugongs and snubfin dolphins in Pilbara waters
• reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through offsetting approximately 2.6 million tonnes per year of reservoir carbon dioxide emissions.

"The State Government will continue to ensure the highest environmental standards are applied to protect the local community and its environment," Mr Marmion said.

"This is a huge development for Western Australia. At its peak, the construction workforce for Wheatstone is expected to reach 3,000 people, in addition to a further 3,500 indirect jobs and billions of dollars in locally purchased goods and services."

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Chevron Sells Shell Stake in Wheatstone Project

Chevron Sells Shell Stake in Wheatstone Project

Monday, April 11, 2011

Chevron Corp.

Chevron announced the signing of agreements with Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd to bring Shell into the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project as a natural gas supplier and equity participant.

George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron Corporation, said, "Chevron is pleased to welcome another participant into the Wheatstone Project. The Wheatstone hub will provide a reliable new source of energy to Australia and the region. It will also further enhance Chevron's position as a leading supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia-Pacific."

Under the unitization agreement with Chevron's Australian subsidiaries, Shell will assume an 8 percent participating interest in the Wheatstone and Iago natural gas fields in the Chevron-operated permits WA-253-P, WA-17-R and WA-16-R, located offshore northwest Australia.
The Wheatstone and Iago gas fields will supply Trains 1 and 2 of the Wheatstone Project, located onshore at Ashburton North in Western Australia.

Shell will also assume a 6.4 percent participating interest in the project facilities, with Chevron remaining project operator.

Chevron Australia managing director, Roy Krzywosinski, said front-end engineering and design (FEED) activity on the Wheatstone Project is nearing completion.

"The Wheatstone Project is set to become one of Australia's largest resource projects and Australia's first LNG hub. A final investment decision is expected in the second half of this year once environmental approvals and other associated agreements are finalized with various levels of government."

The first phase of the Wheatstone Project consists of two LNG processing trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) and a domestic gas plant.