Gorgon joint venture partners' proposal will contribute to State's development

17/8/99
Western Australia's Resources Development Minister Colin Barnett today said that the realisation by the Gorgon joint venture partners of a new domestic industrial gas marketing initiative would be a major contribution to the next wave of State development.
Mr Barnett said the proposal by the Gorgon participants - Chevron, Texaco, Mobil and Shell - to utilise the large reserves of the Greater Gorgon fields for domestic industrial purposes would improve Western Australia's attractiveness as a location for investment in minerals and gas processing. Texaco Australia would lead the effort as marketing agent on behalf of the participants.
"This can only help make WA more attractive to Australian and international investors by bringing further competition to the domestic gas market," Mr Barnett said.
"The decision is good news for the State in its bid to attract major gas users such as petrochemical plants and iron ore processing."
The Minister said the Government was in discussions with a number of international and local companies to advance the feasibility of several proposed projects in the North-West, including direct reduced iron, ammonia and urea, synthetic fuels and oils, petrochemicals and other chemical products.
Mr Barnett said the joint venture partners were considering transporting gas to Thevenard Island for processing, and then further transporting it by pipeline to Onslow where, it was hoped, industry customers would establish.
To that extent, the Department of Resources Development had begun investigating the development of a suitable industrial site near the North-West town with the Shire of Ashburton and other Government departments.
"The combination of WA's diverse mineral reserves and its close proximity to large, competitively-priced reserves of natural gas such as the Greater Gorgon fields, creates exceptional potential for world class industrial development in the North-West," Mr Barnett said.
"The likelihood of success for the new initiative is also high, due to the involvement of some of the world's leading energy companies. This can only benefit the long-term viability of the Gorgon LNG project under consideration by the companies."
The Minister said that WA was fast becoming a more important strategic location as the energy consumption of countries in the Asia-Pacific region expanded, and worldwide demand for the environmental advantages of gas-based energy increased.
Industrial consumers in the State already paid among the lowest prices in the world for domestic gas by negotiating direct with suppliers
"The combination of these factors, along with Australia's economic and political stability, and a reputation for technological innovation and expertise, makes WA one of the world's premier industrial locations," Mr Barnett said.
Media contact: Justine Whittome (08) 9222 9699