Australia: Skywest Signs Charter Contract for Wheatstone LNG

Skywest Airlines Ltd, the Australian and South East Asia regional airline, announced the signing of a scheduled charter contract with Bechtel, the front-end engineering and design contractor of the Chevron Wheatstone Project.

The contract is to fly the construction workers for the project over the next six years. It is anticipated that Skywest will be flying approximately 2,400 flights over this period during the term of the project. The services provided are between Perth and Onslow which is located in the Northwest region of Western Australia.

The Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project is one of Australia’s largest resource projects. Located at Ashburton North, 12 kilometres west of Onslow in Western Australia, the Wheatstone Project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (73.6%), Apache (13%), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (7%), and Shell (6.4%). The initial phase of the project will consist of two liquefied natural gas trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tonne per annum and a domestic gas plant.

Executive Chairman, Jeff Chatfield said: “We are delighted to have secured this six year contract with Bechtel. The services, which are to be billed at market rates and include fuel cost adjustments, are planned to commence later this month using 50 seat aircraft and peaking in the year 2015 on 100 seat aircraft. The Wheatstone project is a significant project in Western Australia and as a long term project is a significant opportunity for Skywest. Securing long term charter contracts form a key part of our business strategy.”

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LNG World News Staff, November 22, 2011; Image: Chevron