Energy giants agree to develop huge Australian LNG project

Energy giants Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil today agreed to develop Australia's massive Gorgon field, giving the final go-ahead to a liquefied natural gas project underpinned by supply contracts with India, China, Japan and South Korea.

The project is expected to begin production in 2014.

Gorgon, the world's largest LNG plant, will be built on Barrow Island, a nature reserve about 70 km off Western Australia. The Australian government approved the project last month after imposing strict environmental conditions.

ExxonMobil said Gorgon had an estimated 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, providing an important source of energy for Asia's burgeoning economies.

"With global demand for LNG forecast to triple by 2030, the Gorgon project will be a critical supply source in meeting this future demand, particularly for the economies in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region," ExxonMobil senior executive Neil Duffin said.

Chevron said the joint venture partners would start work immediately on the plant. Chevron owns a 50 per cent stake in Gorgon and will operate the plant, with ExxonMobil and Shell each holding 25 per cent.

Chevron said it was set to award construction contracts worth more than $10 billion in coming months as building work gets underway.