Chevron welcomes NorthWest deal

CHEVRON Australia Pty Ltd has welcomed the signing of letters of intent by Japanese customers that will underpin expansion plans for a fourth liquefied natural gas train on the Burrup Peninsula.

The agreements with Tokyo Gas and Toho Gas cover LNG supply for 25 years and build up to a plateau volume of one million tonnes by 2006.

The parties will now move to finalising sales and purchase agreements by the end of the year.

Chevron managing director John Gass said the NWSV announcement was consistent with Chevron’s focus on the region as a key element in its global growth portfolio.

“The letters of intent provide the foundation volumes necessary to advance to the next development phase of the NWS project,” he said.

Tokyo Gas and Toho Gas were among the eight foundation customers of the North West Shelf LNG project when the original LNG contracts were signed in 1985. Tokyo Gas is the largest gas utility in Japan responsible for about 40 per cent of total Japanese gas sales. Toho Gas was the first company to introduce LNG to central Japan and is Japan’s third largest gas utility.

Chevron is a one-sixth partner in the North West Shelf Venture, along with Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd, BHP Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd, BP Developments Australia Ltd, Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd and operator Woodside Energy Ltd.