Chevron has kicked off production of LNG from its giant Wheatstone development in Australia.
The first LNG cargo from the onshore facility near Onslow, Western Australia, is expected in the coming weeks.
“First LNG production is a significant milestone and is a credit to our partners, contractors and the many thousands of people who collaborated to deliver this legacy asset,” said Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson .
“Wheatstone adds to our legacy gas position in Australia that will be a significant cash generator for decades to come.”
At full capacity, the Wheatstone Project’s two train LNG facility will supply 8.9 million metric tonnes per year of LNG for export to customers in Asia. The LNG facility is located 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) west of Onslow and processes natural gas from the Chevron-operated Wheatstone and Iago fields.
The Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG facility is a joint venture between Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (64.14 percent), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) (13.4 percent), Woodside Petroleum Limited (13 percent), and Kyushu Electric Power Company (1.46 percent), together with PE Wheatstone Pty Ltd, part owned by JERA (8 percent). Chevron holds an 80.2 percent interest in the offshore licenses containing the Wheatstone and Iago fields.
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said first LNG production represented a significant milestone for all of the Wheatstone LNG joint venture participants.
“Wheatstone is a world-class asset and the safe start-up of the facility was one of our priorities for 2017, supporting our near-term growth strategy.
“We are proud of the support our staff provided to the operator and its contractors, drawing on Woodside’s extensive experience delivering LNG projects. We will continue to support the operator in optimizing lifting costs and increasing production volumes, to maximize the value of our investment,” he said.
First LNG production from Wheatstone Train 2 is expected in six to eight months.
Offshore Energy Today Staff