Chevron’s unit in Australia is boosting production rates at the Wheatstone domestic gas facility near Onslow.
According to a statement by Chevron Australia, the official nameplate capacity of Wheatstone’s domestic gas plant will increase from 205 terajoules per day to 215 terajoules per day – an increase of 5 percent.
This follows technical enhancements and plant modifications to increase production rates at the domestic gas facility.
Chevron Australia managing director Mark Hatfield said in the statement that the plant modifications and subsequent high-rate production trial undertaken over the past year had confirmed the facility was able to maintain safe and reliable domestic gas production at increased rates across a range of temperature conditions and operating environments.
“Chevron is one of WA’s major domestic gas suppliers, currently operating facilities that produce almost half of the state’s gas supply, helping to underpin energy security and economic prosperity,” Hatfield said.
“The gas we produce is used in the electricity that powers homes and businesses, and supports key industries like mining, minerals processing and manufacturing, which is why we are pleased to have the confidence to increase domestic gas capacity from the Wheatstone project on an ongoing basis.”
Further capacity increase
Hatfield said that Chevron would undartake further work over coming months to trial even higher domestic gas production rates.
“Recognizing the critical role of natural gas for WA industry and communities, we will continue to explore operational efficiencies and equipment enhancements at Wheatstone that could increase domestic gas capacity even further,” he said.
The Wheatstone LNG facility, which shipped its first cargo in 2017, features two trains and the domestic gas plant located at the Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Area in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Natural gas arrives from the offshore Wheatstone, Iago, Julimar, and Brunello gas fields.
The Chevron-operated Wheatstone project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (64.14 percent), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (13.4 percent), Woodside (13 percent), and Kyushu Electric Power Company (1.46 percent), together with PE Wheatstone, part-owned by Jera (8 percent).