Chevron Corporation announced that its subsidiary,
Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, has signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with
the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to deliver 4.1 million tons
per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for up to 20 years from
the Wheatstone Project in northwestern Australia.
Under the
agreement, TEPCO also intends to acquire 15 percent of Chevron’s equity
share in the Wheatstone field licenses and an 11.25 percent interest in
the Wheatstone natural gas processing facilities to be developed
onshore near Onslow in northwestern Australia.
"We are
pleased to welcome TEPCO as a foundation customer and equity partner in
the Wheatstone project as we move the development forward. This HOA
further demonstrates that Wheatstone is well positioned to deliver
energy to the Asia-Pacific region," said George Kirkland, executive
vice president, Chevron Global Upstream and Gas.
"TEPCO is
among the most experienced LNG buyers in the world. Their commitment to
secure long-term LNG supplies from Wheatstone is a strong demonstration
of their confidence in Chevron and represents another important step
forward for the project," said John Gass, president, Chevron Global Gas.
The
initial phase of the Wheatstone project will have the capacity to
process 8.6 MTPA LNG and will include a domestic gas plant. A final
investment decision is expected in 2011.
In October, Chevron
announced it had signed a binding agreement with Apache Julimar Pty
Ltd, a subsidiary of the Apache Corporation, which will assume a 16.25
percent equity interest in the Wheatstone project, and KUFPEC Australia
(Julimar) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum
Exploration Company k.s.c., which will assume a 8.75 percent interest
in the project.
