Chevron Announces Stage 3 FID on Gorgon

Just days after the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis publicly denounced the facility’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant for capturing only “a fraction” of total emissions from the adjoining LNG plant, Chevron has announced a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Gorgon Stage 3 development, which sits off the northwest coast of Western Australia.

The Chevron-operated Gorgon Project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and JERA (0.417%).

The Stage 3 FID will see a AUS$3Bn (USD2Bn) backfill development connect the offshore Geryon and Eurytion natural gas fields in the Greater Gorgon Area to Gorgon’s existing subsea gas gathering infrastructure and processing facilities on Barrow Island.

Part of the original development plan for Gorgon, Gorgon Stage 3 is the first in a series of planned subsea tiebacks, said Chevron. It said that the development will involve the installation of three manifolds and a 35-km production flowline, among other associated infrastructure. Six wells will be drilled in the two fields, located about 100 km northwest of Barrow Island, in water depths of about 1300 m.

Chevron Australia president, Balaji Krishnamurthy, said the development would maintain production at Gorgon, enabling the long-term supply of domestic gas for the region’s households and industry, and LNG for international customers in Asia. “Gorgon Stage 3 is a cost-competitive development which will optimise existing infrastructure and complement the well-progressed Jansz-Io Compression Project and previously completed Gorgon Stage 2 infill development,” he said.

Chevon claims the Gorgon facility has capacity to produce 300 terajoules per day of gas for the WA market and 15.6 million tonnes of LNG per year.