ninemsn.com.au (Australia): Energy giants reach agreement on Gorgon: “Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch/Shell Group and ChevronTexaco Corp have reached agreement on the ownership of the $11 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia” (ShellNews.net) 6 April 05

Wed Apr 6 2005

Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch/Shell Group and ChevronTexaco Corp have reached agreement on the ownership of the $11 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia.

ExxonMobil said the Gorgon joint venture partners had signed a framework agreement resulting in a new ownership structure for the Gorgon project and the Greater Gorgon gas resource offshore WA.

ChevronTexaco said the agreement provided the basis for the combined development of natural gas at Gorgon and nearby gas fields as one world-scale project.

The agreement will provide access to 11 gas fields in the Greater Gorgon area, including Gorgon and Jansz, containing estimated total recoverable resources in excess of 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

"It will help ensure that the world-class gas fields of the Greater Gorgon Area are developed in the most technically and economically efficient way to meet the growing demand for gas in the Asia-Pacific region and North America," ChevronTexaco executive vice president for upstream and gas, George Kirkland, said in a statement.

Under the new agreement, operator ChevronTexaco will hold 50 per cent of the Gorgon project, ExxonMobil 25 per cent and Shell 25 per cent.

ExxonMobil said the government permitting and approvals process for the Gorgon development was on track and the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase was expected to begin this year.

The Gorgon joint venture is currently progressing environmental and permitting approval processes for the LNG and domestic gas project facilities on Barrow Island.

"Marketing activities for the Gorgon project are well advanced," ExxonMobil Australia chairman Mark Nolan said.

"This represents another significant gas development opportunity for ExxonMobil and an important milestone along the path towards successful development of the Gorgon LNG project - a project that stands to make a major contribution to the Australian and Western Australian economies."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=18517

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