The Gorgon Project, operated by the Australian subsidiary of Chevron in joint venture with Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell, is currently estimated to cost $37 billion for the first phase of development. First gas is planned for 2014.
Dave O’Reilly, chairman of Chevron, said: “With a total resource base of more than 40 trillion cubic feet of gas and an estimated economic life of at least 40 years, Gorgon will be a major contributor to our company’s future growth.
Chevron said that the project underwent an environmental assessment that culminated with some of the conditions imposed on a major project anywhere in the world.
The Greater Gorgon Area’s projected natural gas resources are equivalent to 6.7 billion barrels of oil. The project’s scope includes a three-train, 15 million-metric-ton-per-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and a domestic gas plant, said the company.
George Kirkland, executive vice president of global upstream and gas at Chevron, said: “Gorgon adds significant long-term reserves and production for Chevron, bolstering our strong resource replacement and underscoring the importance of Australia to our growing natural gas business.”
