The new pipeline would be located either along the northern pipeline route option or the southern pipeline route option, along with the drilling of new production wells and the installation of new subsea infrastructure.
A fourth train expansion has also been recommended for conditional approval by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
A fourth train would see the production capacity of the project, situated on Barrow Island, expand from 15 MMt/a to 20 MMt/a.
Highest level of environmental assessment
EPA Chairman Dr Paul Vogel said the fourth train expansion proposal had been rigorously assessed at the EPA’s highest level of environmental impact assessment – a public environmental review.
“Horizontal directional drilling (HDD), offshore gas pipeline installation activities and fourth train operation have the potential to impact on the environment,” Dr Vogel said.
“The EPA carefully assessed the potential impacts to marine environmental quality, marine fauna, air quality and benthic communities and habitat and found that the proposal could be managed to meet the EPA’s objectives subject to the conditions in the existing ministerial statements issued for the original project.
“These conditions include management plans for marine environmental quality, HDD activities, gas pipeline installation, marine fauna, air quality and greenhouse gas abatement.”
Appeals for the expansion close 17 March 2015, before the WA Minister for Environment makes a final decision.
On schedule for first LNG
The Gorgon Project is currently around 90 per cent complete, and on track for first LNG in mid-2015.
Joint venture interests in the project include Chevron (operator, 47 per cent), ExxonMobil (25 per cent), Shell (25 per cent), Osaka Gas (1.25 per cent), Tokyo Gas (1 per cent), and Chubu Electric Power (0.417 per cent).
Click here to view the EPA report and recommendations.
