Gorgon gas project

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The Greater Gorgon gas field around Barrow Island

The Gorgon gas project , also known as the Great Gorgon , will supply around 8% of the global liquid gas volume from 2014 and is currently the largest production project for liquid gas. The eleven gas fields are located in Western Australia, 200 km from the coast. An offshore system of pipelines and large-scale industrial natural gas production plants and three gas liquefaction plants ( English LNG trains ) is being set up on the area of Barrow Island in order to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG), primarily for export to the Asian region.

The project, which is being set up in an environment of high vulnerability , is intended to economically develop one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. It is dominated by Australian branches of three large international oil companies, which hold the project majority of 97%. When completed, it will be one of the four major gas reserves for LNG export in Australia. At the beginning of the planning phase, it was assumed that there would be sufficient gas for 30 years and later 40 years. The project leader Chevron announced in August 2010 that a further term of 20 years was to be expected and that further LNG trains would have to be set up.

The Gorgon Gas Project is often compared to the Snowy Mountains System , a long-term energy security project with major technical and financial challenges that employed around 100,000 people, mostly foreigners who shaped today's multicultural Australian society.

location

Natural gas reserves in Australia

The Greater Gorgon gas field encompasses several gas fields including the Gorgon , Chandon , Geryon , Orthrus , Maenad , Eurytion , Urania , Chrysaor , Dionysus , Jansz / Io field and the West Tryal Rocks which are in the Barrow sub -basin of the Carnarvon basin , a sedimentary basin . The Gorgon gas field is closest to the other natural gas fields and is located approximately 130 km from the northwest coast of Western Australia at a water depth of 200 m. Other gas fields belonging to the Gorgon Group are to the north, such as the Jansz-Io gas field, which covers an area of ​​200 km² at a water depth of 1300 m.

Barrow Island is 25 km long and about 10 km wide with an area of ​​235 km². It is located about 50 km off the coast of the Pilbara region , 85 km northeast of Onslow and 140 km west of Karratha . It is the largest island in the area including the Montebello Islands and the Lowendal Archipelago .

history

More than 200 exploratory holes have been drilled in the Gorgon gas fields over the past 35 years in the Barrow geological sub-basin , including West Tryal Rocks in 1972 and Spar in 1976. The last two areas were explored by West Australian Petroleum (WAPET), a pioneering company in the West Australian oil and gas industry. WAPET was the reservoir exploration company that conducted various explorations on behalf of Chevron , Texaco , Shell and Ampolex (a reservoir exploration division of Ampol, Australia ).

Chevron and Texaco merged in 2001, Mobil acquired Ampolex, and later Mobil merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil . In 2000, Chevron took over the Australian WAPET.

WAPET discovered the Gorgon gas field back in 1981 when the Gorgon 1 well was drilling. However, natural gas deposits only became economically interesting after gas liquefaction with the large-scale LNG trains had been technically developed. WAPET later discovered the Chrysaor (1994) and Dionysus gas fields (1996). The Jansz-Io pool of natural gas was discovered in January 2000, which is believed to be a gas field capable of exploiting 566 billion cubic meters.

The Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields are said to contain a total of 1.13 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and be exploitable for 60 years.

Environmental regulations

Preliminary environmental protection requirements were imposed on the project by the government of Western Australia in September 2007 and more by the Australian Federal Environment Minister the month after. The project developers then proposed a change in project size in a revised plan; The project received the last environmental requirements on August 11, 2009. The extended project was approved by the Federal Minister with environmental requirements on August 26, 2009.

Participations and majorities

Australian companies are involved in the Gorgon gas project as branches of the international oil companies with a majority of 97%:

activities

According to press information, 300 hectares of land on Barrow Island will be affected by the measure. The construction work began on December 1, 2009 and the first LNG will be available in 2010. The gas production was projected for 30 years, then it was assumed that there would be sufficient gas for 40 years and in the latest publications Chevron reckons with another 20 years until the gas reserves are exhausted.

The gas wells are connected to the northwest coast of Barrow Island by underwater pipelines. From there, the gas is forwarded in an underground pipeline system to facilities for gas processing and liquefaction on the south-east coast of the island. The factory will consist of three gas liquefaction plants, each with an annual capacity of 5 million tons of LNG. The cost of building an LNG train is around AUD $ 10 billion.

The carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) produced during gas liquefaction is 12–15%. It is to be stored in geological layers below the island . On the other hand, when using liquefied petroleum gas to generate electrical energy, around 60% less carbon dioxide is released than other processes.

LNG and the natural gas condensates are initially stored in tanks on land in order to be loaded onto LNG tankers at a 2,100 m long jetty for delivery overseas. Natural gas for Australia is pumped to the mainland via a 70 km submarine pipeline.

Cost and economy

Although the project development team did not disclose the cost of the project, analyst estimates have been published in the press. The total cost of the project is estimated to be AUD $ 11 billion in 2003 and AUD $ 16 billion in 2007, AUD $ 50 billion in March 2009 and AUD $ 43 billion in September 2009.

Economic considerations that were drawn up and published as part of the environmental impacts in 2009 assume that 6,000 jobs will be created in the development phase over a 30-year period and around 3,000 will remain in place over the long term. More recent publications assume 10,000 jobs and 3,500 permanent jobs. The effects of the project on the Australian gross national product were calculated in the next 30 years, based on current figures, with an increase of AUD $ 64.3 billion. A calculated revenue of AUD $ 33 billion will flow into the local region in the form of goods and services, and the state's tax revenue is expected to be AUD $ 40 billion over the 30 year period.

Gas sales

Long-term contracts totaling approximately AUD $ 200 billion through August 2010 were signed for the Gorgon gas project.

Gas export

Sales negotiations on the sales volume of the LNG took place with companies with the participation of government agencies in China , India , Indonesia , Japan and South Korea .

Chevron Australia signed gas supply volume contracts with companies from Japan and South Korea with the following companies:

  • Osaka Gas , Japan: 1.375 million tons annually for 25 years
  • Tōkyō Gas , Japan: 1.1 million tons annually for 25 years
  • Chubu Electric Power , Japan: 1.44 million tons annually for 25 years
  • GS Caltex , South Korea: 0.5 million tons annually for 20 years
  • Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS): 1.5 million tons annually for 15 years
  • Nippon Oil Corporation , Japan: 0.3 million tons annually over 15 years
  • Kyūshū Electric Power Company , Japan: 0.3 million tons annually over 15 years

Shell concluded long-term contracts with companies from India , Indonesia and Mexico , such as PetroChina International Company Limited and BP Singapore Pte. Limited and agreed timed LNG deliveries to Energia Costa Azul in Baja California (Mexico) and Hazira in Gujarat (India).

An Australian subsidiary of ExxonMobil signed long-term supply contracts with companies from India and China , such as Petronet LNG Limited of India for 1.5 million tons annually over a period of 20 years and with PetroChina International Company Limited 2.25 million tons annually for over 20 years Years and received further contractual assurances of gas volumes from the Gorgon project.

Gas deliveries to Australia

According to the legal requirements of the Barrow Island Act (2003), the Gorgon project has to promise to deliver 2000  petajoules of gas to the Australian market. The Gorgon project is planning a national gas project that provides for the continuous expansion of domestic gas supplies to 300  terajoules . Chevron indicated that supplying the Australian gas market required the installation of a third LG train .

Flora and fauna

In the gas production area, there is a large contiguous protected area with the Montebello Islands Marine Park with 58,331 hectares , the Barrow Island Marine Park with 4169 hectares and the Barrow Island Marine Management Area with 114,693 hectares.

The first British-Australian atomic bomb explosion took place on the Montebello Islands in 1952.

Barrow Island is a Spinifex grassland with numerous termite mounds . The mountain kangaroo , spectacle rabbit kangaroo , brush kangaroo , golden bandicoot and Barrow Island mouse live there. An endemic bird, Malurus leucopterus edouardi , a subspecies of the white-winged easel tail, and osprey are featured. The limestone basins and cavities formed the basis for the development of endemic freshwater fish such as the blind gudgeon , troglobiote and amphibious species .

The green turtle , hawksbill sea turtle , barrow reef turtle and the occasional loggerhead turtle can be found around Barrow Island and the Montebello Islands . Seven species of toothed whales and three baleen whales have been counted, humpback whales also stay there for a while , as do dugongs . There are 150 species of hard corals in the marine area and 15 species of birds have been identified.

Mangrove forests grow on the coast, alternating with sandy beaches. There are also significant coral reefs with tropical fauna in the park's waters .

Criticism of the project

The planned project drew criticism from environmental groups, including a. of WWF Australia , who fear the possible demise of the ecology on Bowen Island. The Gorgon project has announced that 40 of its own “quarantine officers” are stationed at the ports of departure to control the cargo for the project in Asia and Europe, which are supposed to prevent strange animals and plants from reaching Barrow Island. The island is an A-category nature reserve and has an occurrence of the endemic barrier reef turtle, which is considered to be very vulnerable. The existence of other endemic animals on the island is threatened.

Other concerns have been expressed about the adequacy of protective measures on Barrow Island against the intrusion of non-endemic species that can destroy existing flora and fauna and the risks associated with discharging CO 2 into the geological structure.

Basically, the critics distrust the government of Western Australia and in particular the ruling Liberal Party , which in the past has only represented the interests of big industry, completely ignored environmental concerns and favored economic interests.

outlook

Chevron announced in August 2010 that the gas reserves are so large and that it has already been recognized that a fourth LNG train would be necessary to use the available gas and that a fifth may be necessary.

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Christoph Hein: The magic word is liquid gas. FAZ of July 2, 2010 . Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  2. a b c d e Gorgon EIS 2009-Response to Submissions (PDF) Chevron Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  3. ^ Gorgon, Northern Carnarvon Basin . In: Offshore-technology.com . SPG Media Limited. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
  4. Project Overview (PDF) Chevron Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  5. a b Energy in Australia 2009 (PDF) Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 20, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ret.gov.au
  6. a b c Chevron gas find expands Gorgon ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . The Australian, August 2, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.perthnow.com.au
  7. a b Offshore Acreage Release 2008: Exploration History . Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism . Archived from the original on September 11, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 20, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ret.gov.au
  8. Exxon to Ship Gorgon LNG to PetroChina From 2014-15 . In: Bloomberg . August 20, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  9. ^ Chevron gets Gorgon green light . In: Upstream Online , NHST Media Group, September 7, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2008. 
  10. ^ Chevron gets Gorgon green light . In: Upstream Online , NHST Media Group, October 27, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2008. 
  11. ^ Final State environmental approval for Gorgon development . Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 20, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au
  12. Gorgon Expansion . Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  13. ^ Biggest gas project in nation's history gets approval The Australian, September 15, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  14. Shell inks Gorgon LNG deal with PetroChina , the Sydney Morning Herald. September 4, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2009. 
  15. a b Australia signs $ 50bn gas deal with China . The Australian. Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 20, 2009.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.theaustralian.news.com.au
  16. ^ A b Gorgon-Revised Public Environmental Review (PDF) Chevron Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  17. Domestic Gas . Chevron Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  18. ^ Barrow Island Act 2003 . Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  19. Project Newsletter Oct08 . Chevron Australia. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  20. ^ Marineparks.wa.gov.au : Barrow Island Marine Management Area, accessed July 19, 2011.
  21. ^ Management Plan for the Montebello / Barrow Islands. Marine Conservation Reserves 2007–2017. Management plan no 55 . P. 8, in English
  22. Current Threatened and Priority Fauna Rankings February 2009 . Department of Environment and Conservation. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 29, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dec.wa.gov.au
  23. Barrow pipeline adds to protesters woes . In: Upstream Online , NHST Media Group, December 11, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2008. 
  24. ^ Gorgon gas project 'environmental vandalism' . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved August 27, 2009.

Web links

Coordinates: 20 ° 52 ′  S , 115 ° 21 ′  E