First LNG Production Achieved at Wheatstone

Chevron has started producing LNG at the Wheatstone Project in Western Australia. The first cargo is on track to be shipped in the coming weeks.

Wheatstone is one of Australia’s largest resource projects. At full capacity, the Wheatstone Project’s two train LNG facility will supply 8.9 million metric tons per year of LNG for export to customers in Asia. The LNG facility is located 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) west of Onslow and processes natural gas from the Chevron-operated Wheatstone and Iago fields. 

The offshore processing platform is located in 70 meters (230 feet) of water, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the coast. At the platform, gas, condensate and associated aquifer water will be produced from the Wheatstone, Iago, Julimar and Brunello gas resources.

The natural gas and condensate is brought to the surface via a series of subsea wells and  transported through a network of subsea pipelines to the central processing platform.

Energy consulting firm EnergyQuest says that Australian LNG exports will grow by 23 percent over the next 12 months to reach a total of 63 million tons per annum. The value of Australia’s LNG exports exceeded $20 billion in the year ending June 30, thanks in large part to strong sales to North Asian customers. Japan, China and Korea continue to be the dominant destinations for Australian exports, comprising 90 percent of deliveries in June. Australia is the largest supplier to Japan and China and the second-largest supplier to Korea. 

Wheatstone 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, part owned by JERA (eight percent).