PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The owners of the 3.6-million-tonne-a-year Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, in the Northern Territory, are studying the potential expansion of the project through the introduction of a second LNG train.

The Northern Territory government has announced that it will contribute A$250 000 towards the feasibility study with Chief Minister Michael Gunner saying a second train for the Darwin LNG facility will involve a multibillion-dollar investment and represent a new development in Australia’s offshore gas industry.

“The Territory government is focused on restoring trust by creating jobs – especially in the private sector – and we believe funding this feasibility study is a good investment,” Gunner said.

“The first train at Darwin LNG created around 2 500 jobs during construction and over 8 500 subcontracts and purchase orders. In operation it directly supports over 250 local jobs and on average around A$100-million per year in supply and service opportunities.

“The Territory government is supporting the feasibility study because this is a significant investment towards the business case for potential expansion at Darwin LNG, potentially creating thousands of jobs during construction and operation.”

The study will explore different LNG process technologies and production rates to support a low-cost development for a second LNG train, and is scheduled to be complete by the end of this year.

ConocoPhillips Australia West VP external affairs Kayleen Ewin said on Wednesday that the feasibility study was the first step in finding new ways to commercialise the substantial offshore resources in northern Australia.

“With Darwin LNG, five upstream joint ventures and the Northern Territory government involved, it is a pioneering example of all of industry and government collaborating on solutions to unlock major investments,” Ewin said.

The Northern Territory government is contributing around 40% of the feasibility study costs, with the remainder funded by ConocoPhillips and upstream resource owners in Evans Shoal, Caldita-Barossa, Poseidon, Cash Maple and Bonaparte LNG (Petrel Tern).