Wheatstone ships first LNG

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US oil major Chevron has shipped the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Wheatstone project, in Western Australia, to customers in Japan.

“The first shipment of LNG from the Wheatstone project signifies our commitment to be a safe and reliable long-term supplier of cleaner-burning natural gas for our customers in the Asia-Pacific region,” Chevron Australia MD Nigel Hearne said on Wednesday.

The $34-billion Wheatstone project produced its first LNG in October this year, and at full capacity, the two train LNG facility will supply 8.9-million tons a year of LNG for export to customers in Asia.

The project’s domestic gas plant also has the capacity to produce 200 TJ/d of domestic gas for the Western Australian market.

“The Wheatstone project is Australia’s first third-party natural gas hub enabling future development of the vast natural gas resources offshore Western Australia. Through collaboration our goal is to efficiently develop and commercialise this resource,” Hearne said.

Since 2009, the project has spent more than $20-billion on local goods and services through 300 different Australian companies and created more than 7 000 jobs during construction.