Name and Location
Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Australia.

Client
The project is a joint venture between Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (64.1%); Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) (13.4%); Woodside Petroleum (13%); PE Wheatstone, which is partly owned by TEPCO (8%); and Kyushu Electric Power Company (1.46%),

Project Description
The Wheatstone LNG project, located at Ashburton North, 12 km west of Onslow, in Western Australia, will become one of the country’s largest resource projects, providing greater security of supply and significant economic benefits, including employment, government revenue and opportunities for local businesses.

The project plans to develop a 25-million-ton-a-year LNG plant. The foundation phase consists of two LNG processing trains with a combined capacity of 8.9-million tons a year, a domestic gas plant and associated offshore infrastructure, including the processing platform, subsea equipment, drilling and an export trunkline.

The LNG trains will be supplied with gas from the neighbouring Wheatstone and Iago gasfields.

The domestic gas plant will have the capacity to equal about 15% of LNG sales, with domestic gas to be delivered to the Western Australian market through the Dampier-to-Bunbury natural gas pipeline.

The project will require the installation of gas-gathering infrastructure, export and processing facilities in Commonwealth and State waters, and on land, as well as a shipping access channel and a new industrial port facility.

Value
The foundation phase of the project is valued at $29-billion.

Duration
A final investment decision to proceed with the Wheatstone project was made in September 2011, with construction started in December that same year.

First gas is expected in mid-2017.

Latest Developments
First LNG production from the Wheatstone project has been delayed by about six months, with first production now expected in mid-2017.

The delay has reportedly been caused by the slow schedule of construction of plant modules in Malaysia.

Specialist investment banking and financial services firm Macquarie Group has forecast that costs at the project might rise about 14% to $33-billion, as a result of the delay.

Woodside has indicated that the Julimar project, in which it holds a 65% equity interest, and which will supply gas to the Wheatstone onshore plant, remains on schedule and on budget.

Woodside has also placated stakeholders in the Wheatstone project, saying that delivery commitments under the LNG sales agreement will be met under the revised production schedule.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals (onshore front-end engineering and design).

On Budget and on Time?
The project has been delayed by six months.

Contact Details for Project Information
Bechtel (Australia), tel +61 7 3167 5000 or fax +61 7 3167 5001.
Chevron Australia, tel +61 8 9216 4000, fax +61 8 9216 4166 or
email gorgon.info@chevron.com; or senior communications adviser Nicole Hodgson, tel +61 8 9216 4485 or
email nhodgson@chevron.com.
Kufpec, tel +965 183 6000, fax +965 249 5 1818 or email KUFPEC@KUFPEC.com.
Woodside Petroleum, tel +61 8 9348 4000 or fax +61 8 9214 2777.