Chevron has applied to boost planned production at its $43 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia by 5 million tonnes a year, arguing that the move will reduce the world’s reliance on coal and help to lower carbon emissions.
But the move sparked immediate opposition from the Greens, which said Chevron was hoodwinking the state and federal governments by gradually turning the site of the project, Barrow Island, into an “industrial park”.
Chevron’s planned expansion would take annual production at Gorgon from 15 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes by adding an extra processing unit, which is known as a train.
Construction of the first three trains began in late 2009 and the massive project is scheduled to be in production by 2014.
Ultimately, Chevron wants to boost Gorgon’s capacity to five trains capable of producing a total of 25 million tonnes a year, making it one of the world’s biggest LNG projects.
In documents lodged with the federal environment department, Chevron says it plans to build the fourth train only after the first three units are in place in 2014.
The US energy giant says in its application that it has considered processing the gas at another location, such as the Pilbara. But it prefers to use the existing infrastructure being built on Barrow Island, 50km off the Pilbara coast.
“By developing the capacity to process the gas immediately, rather than waiting for capacity in existing gas processing facilities, the social and economic benefits may be realised sooner,” Chevron says in the application.
Chevron argues that a fourth train will help to meet rising world demand for clean energy, avoiding the increased use of coal and thereby helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
WA Greens MP Robin Chapple said Chevron’s application showed it was trying to mislead governments and that it had no regard for the environmental sensitivity of Barrow Island, an A-class nature reserve that was home to many endangered and rare species.
He said Chevron had initially applied to build two trains on Barrow Island before increasing it to three and now four trains.
“Clearly, four trains on Barrow Island will turn the place into an industrial park,” he said.
Mr Chapple claimed Chevron had failed to implement strict quarantine standards on Barrow Island. In its application, Chevron says it had come to the conclusion that it had sufficient gas resources to justify a fourth train only after the original three-train project was approved by the federal and WA governments in 2009.
A Chevron spokesman said it would not alter the amount of land needed. The Chevron application is open for public comment until May 16.
