LNG giant Chevron is progressing backfill options for its 15.6mn t/yr Gorgon LNG asset in Western Australia (WA), with stage 3 of the project involving gas extraction from the Geryon and Eurytion fields in early development.
Engineering and technical phases are underway for the 40 trillion ft³ (1.1 trillion m³) fields, which will be tied back to existing Gorgon infrastructure, the firm's director of operations for Australia Danny Woodall told Argus on the sidelines of the Energy Exchange Australia conference in WA capital Perth on 11 March. Some modifications of the three-train plant may be required, while Chevron is moving towards repeatable, off-the-shelf designs for the development of the new fields.
Chevron is turning to its suppliers and leveraging their designs instead of introducing its own standards, improving cost efficiency by cutting down on cycle time for equipment deliveries, Woodall said.
The works follow Gorgon stage 2 wells coming on line in 2023 and the Janz-Io compression project currently underway to boost output from depleting reservoirs.
The asset swap planned with Australian independent Woodside Energy, where Chevron will relinquish its 17pc stake in the North West Shelf project and gain Woodside's 13pc share in the Wheatstone LNG terminal, will help Chevron unlock further value at Wheatstone, Woodall added.
The firm will drill two exploration wells in 2025, Dino South-1 and Wheatstone Deep, while the Barrow Island assets in its WA Oil division will be decommissioned in 2025 as the field's output declines to 1,000 b/d, with the final cargo to be lifted in mid-2025.
CCS works underway
The 4mn t/yr nameplate Gorgon carbon capture and storage (CCS) project on Barrow Island has sequestered 10.5mn t of CO2 since 2019, Chevron said. Gorgon was Australia's top industrial emitter of CO2 equivalent in 2022-23 at around 8.2mn t. Chevron has promised to improve sequestration at the site, after it drew criticism from climate campaigners for its underperformance.
The firm is executing the next phase of optimisation that will allow it to inject and store more CO2 than current capacity levels. The work will be completed in the coming months, Woodall said, adding that operational initiatives at Chevron's Australian assets have reduced its scope 1 emissions by 140,000 t/yr in 2024.
The company's new energies division is considering commercial opportunities including CCS sales in Australia, which has strong infrastructure, geology and potential nearby customers in Asia, Woodall said.
