PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US energy major Chevron on Wednesday revealed that the official nameplate capacity of the Wheatstone project’s domestic gas plant would increase by 5% from 205 TJ/d to 215 TJ/d, following technical enhancements and plant modifications.
Chevron Australia MD Mark Hatfield said the plant modifications and subsequent high-rate production trial undertaken over the past year had confirmed the facility was able to maintain safe and reliable domestic gas production at increased rates across a range of temperature conditions and operating environments.
“Chevron is one of Western Australia’s major domestic gas suppliers, currently operating facilities that produce almost half of the state’s gas supply, helping to underpin energy security and economic prosperity,” Hatfield said.
“The gas we produce is used in the electricity that powers homes and businesses, and supports key industries like mining, minerals processing and manufacturing, which is why we are pleased to have the confidence to increase domestic gas capacity from the Wheatstone project on an ongoing basis.”
Hatfield said further work would be undertaken over coming months to trial even higher domestic gas production rates.
“Recognising the critical role of natural gas for Western Australian industry and communities, we will continue to explore operational efficiencies and equipment enhancements at Wheatstone that could increase domestic gas capacity even further,” he said.
Wheatstone is operated by Chevron Australia and is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Woodside Energy and Kyushu Electric Power Company, together with PE Wheatstone, part-owned by JERA.