Chevron Australia has increased the production capacity of its Wheatstone domestic gas facility by seven per cent, lifting nameplate capacity to 230 terajoules per day.
Chevron Australia has increased the production capacity of its Wheatstone domestic gas facility by seven per cent, lifting nameplate capacity to 230 terajoules per day.
The increase means the facility’s capacity has been lifted by 12 per cent over the past two years.
Chevron Australia managing director Mark Hatfield said the increases were the result of a focused program by the company at its Wheatstone facility to support WA’s domestic market.
“We recognise the importance of providing a reliable supply of natural gas for Western Australian businesses and households,” he said.
“I must acknowledge the Wheatstone team for their efforts, over a number of years, to increase domestic gas production capacity.
“They thoroughly tested the plant’s high-rate performance, under various operating conditions, to safely deliver a second significant increase.”
Chevron said the increase at Wheatstone, combined with output from the Gorgon domestic gas facility, meant Chevron was contributing 530 terajoules of gas to the state’s domestic market each day.
Mr Hatfield said over the past year Gorgon and Wheatstone represented around 44 per cent of daily domestic gas production over the last year.
“Last year our Gorgon domestic gas facility achieved record production, supplying more domestic gas into the WA market than any other facility and, for the second year in a row, we have safely and reliably increased production rates at the Wheatstone domestic gas facility,” he said.
“Achievements such as this reflect our ongoing commitment to safeguard the state’s energy security, ensure continued supply to our WA customers, and help to meet the rising demand for gas.”
The announcement comes days from the scheduled tabling of the final report from a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s domestic gas market.
The state’s offshore LNG producers are required to contribute 15 per cent of the production from their assets into the domestic market, a policy which offers some surety of gas supply for the local market but also allows producers to prioritise overseas markets when prices are favourable.
Representatives from Chevron fronted the inquiry last year, telling the committee that the company was willing to open its domestic gas supply book to demonstrate it was meeting its commitments to the local market.
Chevron also used its appearance to urge the importance of policy stability in gas markets, while encouraging accelerated approvals processes for new fields backfilling existing gas facilities.
