WA Premier Hails Start of Work on Wheatstone LNG (Australia)

Premier and State Development Minister Colin Barnett has hailed the start of site works for Chevron’s $29billion Wheatstone LNG project as an exciting milestone for Western Australia.

Mr Barnett today attended a groundbreaking ceremony on the State Government’s Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Area, near the small Pilbara coastal town of Onslow.

The Premier congratulated Chevron and its Wheatstone Joint Venture partners Apache, KUFPEC and Shell on their commitment to the project.

“Wheatstone is creating enormous employment and industry participation opportunities for the State and transforming Onslow, as well as cementing WA’s status as a major global energy provider,” Mr Barnett said.

Chevron estimates Wheatstone will create 6,500 direct and indirect jobs at peak construction, 300 new operational jobs as well as delivering an estimated $17billion to Australian and Western Australian businesses and services over the life of the project.

“Western Australian-based companies have already secured contracts worth nearly $500million since the final investment decision was made in late September 2011. To date, contracts have been awarded for engineering, construction, accommodation and air services,” the Premier said.

“The construction of a $1.2billion domestic gas plant to feed 15 per cent of the gas from the Wheatstone operations into the State’s energy market is also a very important component of the overall project. This helps ensure a safe, secure and reliable supply of gas to meet the State’s energy requirements into the future.”

Mr Barnett said Wheatsone would deliver significant benefits for the local community with Chevron, its partners and the State Government spending approximately $250million on community and public infrastructure in Onslow, including the upgrade of the town’s water and electricity supplies.

Other community benefits include:

– a $20million contribution, with $10million from the Joint Venture and $10million from the State Government under Royalties for Regions, to a community development fund

– more than $66million for community infrastructure including an airport upgrade and construction of a new ring road, community swimming pool, library and visitors’ centre

– a further $120million plus for public infrastructure including road upgrades, waste and waste water management and upgrades to health, education and emergency services facilities.

Wheatstone is the second major new LNG processing site to begin construction in the Pilbara since the Liberal-National Government came to power in 2008. Wheatstone and Gorgon combined account for $72billion worth of new investment in the LNG industry in this State.

The project includes development of offshore gas fields, a 225km pipeline, port facilities and an initial two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

“Wheatstone represents part of a major step forward in the operations and scale of WA’s LNG industry,” Mr Barnett said.

“This project together with the LNG projects currently under construction and the existing North-West Shelf operations will boost WA’s current LNG production from 17 mtpa to 45 mtpa within the next few years.

“This will also position WA as the world’s second-biggest supplier of LNG and well on the way to increasing WA LNG production to more than 60 million tonnes a year by 2020.”

The Wheatstone groundbreaking ceremony was held two years to the day from the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Gorgon project on Barrow Island.

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LNG World News Staff, December 1, 2011; Image: Chevron