Gorgon LNG Terminal

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy.

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Gorgon LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Western Australia, Australia.

Location

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Project Details

• Owner:
• Parent: Chevron (47.3%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%), JERA (0.417%)
• Location: Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia
• Coordinates: -20.79, 115.44965 (exact)
• Capacity: 15.6 mtpa
• Additional Proposed Capacity:
• Status: Operating
• Type: Export
• Trains: 4
• Start Year: 2015

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Gorgon LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Western Australia, Australia. The LNG terminal is a part of the Gorgon gas project, which includes the Greater Gorgon gas fields, subsea gas gathering infrastructure, and the Gorgon LNG Terminal. A proposed Stage Two of the Gorgon gas project would upgrade existing subsea gas gathering to maintain supply to existing LNG Trains. In 2017, the proposed Stage Two was moved into the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) stage.

In December 2015 the company cut 1,200 jobs from the Gorgon LNG project.

In 2017 a resource tax expert announced that the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) had failed to collect billions of dollars in revenue in northwest Australia. According to the research, the Turnbull government should reintroduce royalties for natural gas projects off northwest Australia, or the Gorgon plant may not pay taxes until 2030 despite being in operation for years. The Gorgon project would raise five billion in tax revenue by 2030 if royalties were reintroduced.

Reuters reported in October 2017 that the LNG market will be sharply focused on how Wheatstone LNG Terminal progresses since going online in 2017 following the troubled beginnings at Chevron’s larger Gorgon LNG Terminal. Natural gas fields offshore of Western Australia feed both Gorgon and Wheatstone.

As of 2017, Australia is the second largest LNG exporter after Qatar. The country exports almost 44 million tons a year.

Proposed Expansion

In September 2012 Chevron proposed building a fourth 5.2-mtpa train to increase the terminal's capacity. In May 2019 Chevron began to drill additional wells that would be used to maintain the terminal's existing capacity of 15.6 mtpa. For this reason the construction of a fourth train for the terminal appears to be shelved.

Proposed Expansion Project Details

• Owner:
• Parent: Chevron (47.3%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%), JERA (0.417%)
• Location: Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia
• Coordinates: -20.79, 115.44965 (exact)
• Capacity:
• Proposed Capacity: 5.2 mtpa
• Status: Shelved
• Type: Export
• Start Year:

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Carbon Capture and Storage (CSS)

In 2015 The Guardian reported that Australia’s top 20 emitting facilities include the Wheatstone LNG Terminal, Gorgon LNG Terminal, Ichthys LNG Terminal, and Pluto LNG Terminal.

This facility is estimated to generate 0.27 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) for every metric ton of LNG produced according to a 2013 report.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), or carbon sequestration, is a means of separating out carbon dioxide when burning fossil fuels, collecting it and subsequently “dumping” it underground or in the sea. CCS is an integrated concept consisting of three distinct components: CO₂ capture, transport and storage (including measurement, monitoring and verification). All three components are currently found in industrial operation today, although mostly not for the purpose of CO₂ storage.

A consultancy report for an Australian government agency highlighted that CCS would impose additional demands on finite water supplies. "Issues related to water availability and carbon dioxide emissions present long term challenges for electricity generators. This is because water-cooled, low-emission, thermal power plants are likely to be significantly more water intensive than current coal-fired power plants. For example, coal-fired power plants incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS) could be one-quarter to one-third more water intensive," the report states.

As of 2011 Australia was to host to six large-scale integrated project (LSIP)s.

Summer 2017, Gorgon LNG began its $2 billion carbon capture and storage (CSS) project. The C02 will be compressed at Barrow Island. The CO2 injection wells will also be located on the Island. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2017.