North West Shelf Venture

Since 1984 the North West Shelf Project has been Western Australia’s largest producer of pipeline gas, providing energy that has fuelled the State’s commercial and industrial developments.

Representing an investment of more than $33.5 billion, the Woodside-operated NWS facilities constitute Australia’s largest oil and gas resource development and currently account for more than one third of Australia’s oil and gas production. The North West Shelf Project currently provides the majority of Western Australia’s pipeline gas production. Processed at the Karratha Gas Plant, domestic gas is delivered to customers in Western Australia via the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

North West Shelf Gas is an agency established by NWS to market pipeline gas to customers in Western Australia and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to major industrial customers around the world. The six equal participants in the North West Shelf Project are BHP Billiton, BP, Chevron, Japan Australia LNG (known as "MIMI" it is owned equally by Japanese trading houses Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui & Co), Shell and Woodside. The China National Offshore Oil Corporation is also part of the North West Shelf Venture but does not have an interest in its infrastructure.

LNG production capacity at the Karratha Gas Plant increased to 16.3 million tonnes a year with the start up of a fifth LNG processing train in 2008.