Wedoany.com Report-Dec.5, Chevron Australia announced on Friday that the Gorgon Joint Venture partners have approved a A$3 billion ($1.98 billion) investment for the Gorgon Stage 3 development, located offshore northwest Western Australia.

The project will tie the Geryon and Eurytion gas fields, along with five additional fields, into the existing Gorgon infrastructure on Barrow Island. Up to 40 new wells will be drilled, extending the overall field life potentially until 2070. Stage 3 will serve primarily as infill supply to sustain output from the existing LNG facility.

The Gorgon Project is operated by Chevron Australia and owned by the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell (combined ~97.3%), together with Osaka Gas, JERA, and MidOcean Energy.

Chevron Australia Managing Director Balaji Krishnamurthy said the development will support continued LNG exports while also securing long-term natural gas supply for Western Australian households and industry, in line with the state's 15% domestic gas reservation requirement.

The Gorgon facility currently has capacity to deliver up to 300 terajoules per day to the Western Australia domestic market and produce 15.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

The Stage 3 environmental plan was submitted for public comment in August 2024 and formally accepted by Australia's offshore regulator in November.

In related activity elsewhere in Australian waters, Shell's drilling programme for the Crux gas field – which will provide backfill to the Prelude floating LNG vessel – was approved by the regulator last week. Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips has completed its first exploration well in southern Australia and is relocating the rig to drill a second well nearby.