CHEVRON STARTED IN AUSTRALIA

REUTERS - Chevron Corp has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the second unit of its $34 billion Wheatstone development, marking the completion of its two megaprojects in Australia after cost-blowouts and delays.

Wheatstone Train 2 is the last of five LNG production units built by Chevron in the state of Western Australia over the past decade at a combined cost of $88 billion.

"With the Chevron-operated Wheatstone and Gorgon LNG facilities now operational, we are delivering a significant new source of energy for customers in the region," Chevron Australia Managing Director Nigel Hearne said in a statement on Friday.

Wheatstone LNG, with a total capacity of 8.9 million tonnes a year, is the eighth LNG project to be completed in Australia. That puts the nation on track to challenge Qatar as the world's biggest LNG exporter when the two remaining ongoing projects - Inpex Corp's Ichthys and Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude floating LNG - are finished.

At full capacity, Wheatstone is expected to make up about 6 percent of the Asia Pacific region's LNG production, Chevron said.

The first cargo from Wheatstone was shipped from Train 1 in October, 2017, a few months behind target, following hiccups in the start-up of Chevron's $54 billion Gorgon project, which slowed work on Wheatstone.

Its partners in Wheatstone are Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), Australia's Woodside Petroleum, Kyushu Electric Power Co, and a joint venture part-owned by the world's top LNG buyer, Japan's JERA.

For Woodside, Wheatstone's ramp up is key to achieving targeted annual production of around 100 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2020.

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Earlier:

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2018, April, 16, 09:10:00 CHEVRON - AUSTRALIA LNG: $54 BLN REUTERS - The $54 billion Gorgon project came on stream in March 2016 but suffered numerous unplanned shutdowns in its early stages.

2018, April, 6, 18:05:00 SANTOS TAKEOVER: $10.4 BLN REUTERS - Australian gas producer Santos Ltd (STO.AX) said on Tuesday it would “engage with” Harbour Energy after receiving a $10.4 billion takeover offer from the U.S. company, its fourth unsolicited bid since August 2017.

2018, February, 9, 10:55:00 AUSTRALIAN LNG: $111 BLN TWA - The Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects are now enjoying cash margins of more than $US30 a barrel at a $US50 price, Chevron says, and production from the $111 billion mega-projects is expected to increase this year.

2017, December, 18, 12:20:00 AUSTRALIA STOPS COAL PLATTS - National Australia Bank announced Thursday it will no longer provide financing for new thermal coal projects.

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2017, June, 24, 09:40:00 AUSTRALIAN LNG CONTROL Australia is set to apply LNG export controls, aimed at securing domestic supply of gas and keeping prices of the fuel in check, from January 1, the government announced earlier this week despite industry warnings about the decision's potential impact on energy investment.