Chevron Corp. is implementing technical improvements and plant modifications to increase the production capacity of its Wheatstone gas project in Australia from 205 terajoules per day (TJpd) to 215 TJpd, or five percent.
A production test last year after those changes were implemented showed the Western Australian facility was able to maintain safe and reliable production at higher rates under different operating conditions, Chevron Australia Pty. Ltd. in a press release this week.
More work is planned for the coming months to test even higher production, he said.
The announcement comes amid a threatened strike by workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone plants over labor standards.
Chevron Australia CEO Mark Hatfield said in a statement: “Chevron is one of the [Western Australia] major national gas suppliers, currently operate facilities that produce nearly half of the state’s gas supply, helping to strengthen energy security and economic prosperity.”
Chevron Australia expects Wheatstone to add more than $180 billion to Australia’s gross domestic product from 2009 to 2040, or almost $6 billion a year, according to a Chevron fact sheet published in 2017, using figures from consultancy ACIL Allen. The plant has a useful life of more than 30 years, according to the operator.
“The gas we produce is used in the electricity that powers homes and businesses, and supports key industries such as mining, mineral processing and manufacturing, so we are pleased to be trusted to increase domestic gas capacity of the Wheatstone project on an ongoing basis,” Hartfield said.
Hartfield added: “Recognizing the critical role natural gas plays for WA industry and communities, we will continue to explore operational efficiencies and equipment upgrades at Wheatstone that could further increase domestic gas capacity.”
Meanwhile, the Offshore Alliance union is scheduled to hold a vote on so-called extended industrial action against Chevron over employment standards, targeting the Gorgon and Wheatstone plants, according to union statements on Facebook.
The Offshore Alliance has already reached an agreement in principle with Woodside Energy Group Ltd. over a strike plan aimed at the North West Shelf plant amid a pay dispute, the union said in a statement on Facebook on Thursday.
The union warned earlier on Tuesday in a statement on Facebook: “Gas users in Western Australia could face increased uncertainty over gas supplies in the coming weeks when Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone plants could also face -se to an industrial action”.
“The three plants supply around 45 per cent of WA’s gas consumption,” Tuesday’s statement added.
Eighty percent of the Wheatstone plant’s supply comes from the Wheatstone and Iago fields, which are operated by Chevron together with the Australian subsidiaries of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (KUFPEC) and Kyushu Electric Power Co., and PE Wheatstone Pty. Ltd. the remaining 20 percent comes from the Julimar and Brunello fields, which are held by Australian subsidiaries KUFPEC and Woodside Petroleum Ltd., according to the fact sheet.
In Australia, Chevron has about 235 million barrels of oil equivalent in undeveloped resources at the Wheatstone and Gorgon developments, according to the corporation’s annual report.
US international energy giant Chevron operates Wheatstone through its Australian subsidiaries with a 64.14 percent stake. The gas production facility is a joint venture with KUFPEC with a 13.4 percent stake, Woodside with 13 percent, PE Wheatstone Pty. Ltd. with eight percent and Kyushu Electric Power Co. with 1.46 percent.
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