Strategy: Commercialize our equity gas resource base.
Clean-burning natural gas is a cornerstone of Chevron's growth plans. Overall, we have more than 150 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources, an amount equivalent to approximately 25 billion barrels of oil. Commercializing these resources is a high priority. Four projects currently under way — Gorgon , Wheatstone, Angola LNG and Gendalo-Gehem — are expected to move Chevron into the top tier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers in the world.
Australia
The Gorgon LNG project is a $37 billion development. It will be our largest investment to date and is expected to supply natural gas to Australia and the Asia-Pacific region for decades to come. Located offshore Western Australia, the Greater Gorgon Area is projected to contain approximately 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources, representing enough energy to power a city of 1 million people for 800 years.
A major construction effort is under way on Barrow Island, where a three-train, 15 million-metric-ton-per-year LNG plant and a domestic gas plant will be located. A 76-mile (122-kilometer) seafloor pipeline is being built to carry natural gas from the Greater Gorgon Area fields to Barrow Island. The development also contains the world's largest commercial system to inject carbon dioxide into underground reservoirs. Chevron's LNG marketing team has secured long-term offtake commitments from customers in Japan and Korea for approximately 90 percent of its share of LNG output from the three-train foundation project. First LNG deliveries are expected in 2014.
The company's Wheatstone LNG project also is expected to develop natural gas from offshore Western Australia. The first phase will be a two-train, 8.9 million-metric-ton-per-year development. Chevron has entered into heads of agreements discussions with customers in Asia for approximately 80 percent of the output from Wheatstone. First LNG deliveries from the project are expected in 2016.
We have made a number of major natural gas discoveries offshore Australia that are expected to provide expansion opportunities for both Gorgon and Wheatstone. We also participate in the North West Shelf Venture offshore Western Australia, a highly successful LNG project.
Angola
Construction is under way on an LNG plant in Angola, which is expected to process up to 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from deepwater fields and other facilities. The project will enable us to commercialize natural gas that previously would have been flared and expand our offshore exploration program. First LNG deliveries are expected in early 2012.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, we have awarded major front-end engineering and design contracts for the deepwater Gendalo-Gehem natural gas development offshore East Kalimantan. The natural gas is intended to be used domestically as well as converted to LNG at a plant in Bontang, East Kalimantan.
Posted: April 2011