Chevron’s unit in Australia has suspended production at its 8.9 mtpa Wheatstone LNG terminal near Onslow to complete a repair on the Wheatstone offshore platform.
A Chevron Australia spokesperson told LNG Prime on Tuesday that “the repair is to the platform’s fuel gas system which supports the operations of the platform.”
“We began safely suspending operations on the platform about 11.00pm (AWST) yesterday, June 10. As the offshore platform provides gas to Wheatstone’s onshore facilities near Onslow, Western Australia, LNG and domestic gas production has been suspended,” the spokesperson said.
“Relevant stakeholders have been notified and we will resume production following the safe completion of the repair works,” the spokesperson added.
Chevron Australia recently resumed full production at its Gorgon LNG terminal in Western Australia following a “mechanical fault” which affected one LNG production train.
In October last year, Chevron and its workers at the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG terminals agreed on new labor agreements following lengthy negotiations between Chevron and unions representing the workers.
The Wheatstone foundation project consists of two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 8.9 mtpa, and a domestic gas plant.
Also, the offshore processing platform is located in 70 meters of water, about 225km from the coast.
The offshore facilities gather and partially process gas and associated condensate from the Wheatstone, Iago, Julimar, and Brunello gas fields, and deliver it onshore via trunkline for further processing.
The project was sanctioned in late 2011, with first shipment of LNG announced in October 2017.
Chevron operates the project with a 64.14 stake and other shareholders include KUFPEC (13.4 percent), Woodside (13 percent), and Kyushu Electric (1.46 percent), together with PE Wheatstone, part-owned by Jera (8 percent).
