Chevron Corporation’s chairman and chief executive Dave O’Reilly used a visit to Perth this week to talk up the state’s resources sector, saying that “Australia and Western Australia in particular, offer one of the world’s best energy investment climates”.
“We’re an enormous investor and plan to be an even bigger investor here in Australia, in Western Australia in particular,” Mr O’Reilly told a media briefing.
He expressed confidence that the long-delayed Gorgon gas project would proceed, and would most likely be doubled in size.
“This is such a big resource base, I am confident this project is going to be commercially successful.”
Mr O’Reilly said he sees Gorgon as a project with a 50-year life span.
“In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if it was still going even longer than 50 years.”
Chevron’s planning and environmental applications have been based on building two five-million tonnes per year liquefied natural gas plants on Barrow Island, an A-class nature reserve.
Mr O’Reilly said Chevron was planning to start with plant capacity of about 10 million tonnes but he expected it would eventually double.
“Long term there is no question, this project …is going to be in the 20 million tonne range.”
A Gorgon spokesman said this was in line with the group’s environmental application, which provided for the possibility of building two extra LNG trains within the 300 hectare parcel of land set aside for the project.
Mr O’Reilly would not be drawn on the likely cost of the Gorgon project, which industry analysts estimate would be about $20 billion.
Chevron has been working on the Gorgon project for several years and has been delayed by environmental objections and rising construction costs.
It passed a major hurdle last week when the state government granted environmental approval for the project.
Mr O’Reilly was in Perth for the official opening of its global technology centre.
The centre has about 40 staff and is building up to about 80 technical professionals by the end of 2008.
