Australia: Chevron Sells Wheatstone LNG to Tohoku

Chevron Corporation has signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Tohoku Electric Power Company Incorporated (Tohoku) for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Chevron-operated Wheatstone natural gas project in Australia.

Under the agreement, Chevron, together with Apache Energy and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), is expected to deliver up to 1 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG to Tohoku for up to 20 years.

Joe Geagea, president, Chevron Gas and Midstream welcomed Tohoku as a major customer of the Wheatstone Project.  “We are pleased Tohoku has agreed to source a significant portion of its annual energy supply requirements from the Wheatstone Project, which further highlights customers’ confidence in Wheatstone as a safe, reliable energy source.”

Roy Krzywosinski, managing director, Chevron Australia, said, more than 80 percent of Chevron’s equity LNG from Wheatstone is now covered under long-term off-take agreements with customers in Asia.

“This off-take agreement for Wheatstone demonstrates our Australian LNG projects are in the right geographic location at the right time to meet Asia’s rapidly growing demand for cleaner burning natural gas.”

The 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, Apache, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Shell and Kyushu Electric Power Company. 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. Gas for the project will be supplied from the Wheatstone, Iago, Julimar and Brunello offshore gas fields.

The Wheatstone Processing Platform will be one of Australia’s largest offshore facilities with a topsides weight of about 37,000 tonnes. The topsides will be transported to the offshore installation site on a barge, and installed onto the substructure using a float over procedure. The platform topsides have a total deck area of 20,000 square meters and include primary processing equipment and facilities.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, May 14, 2012; Image/Video: Chevron