Chevron to sell gas to South Korea

Chevron has signed an agreement to sell 4.15 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas from its $US54 billion Gorgon project on Barrow Island to South Korean-based industrial conglomerate SK LNG Trading.

The US-based energy giant will commit 75 per cent of its equity LNG from Gorgon to Asian customers during the agreement’s five-year life, which will start in 2017.

“This agreement is an important step in the commercialisation of Chevron’s significant natural gas holdings in Australia,” Chevron gas and midstream president Pierre Breber said.

“As Chevron continues to grow into one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers, this agreement represents further progress and diversification of our sales portfolio.”

The value of the agreement was not disclosed.

The deal was made through Chevron's Australian subsidaries.

Chevron Australia managing director Roy Krzywosinski said he looked forward to building lasting relationships with the new customer as the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects move into operations.

"SK joins our existing strong LNG customer base and demonstrates the Chevron-led Gorgon and Wheatstone projects are well-placed to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the Asia-Pacific region," Mr Krzywosinski said.

The Gorgon project is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and Chubu Electric Power.

Gorgon is planned to be operational by the end of 2015.