EPA recommends Gorgon LNG expansion

Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended Chevron’s Gorgon LNG fourth train expansion proposal, for conditional approval.

LNG expansion

Chevron’s fourth train expansion proposal is expected to expand the LNG production capacity on Barrow Island from 15 million tpy to 20 million tpy.

The proposal would involve drilling new production wells and installing new subsea infrastructure, construction of a new feed gas pipeline system, and the addition of a fourth LNG train and associated infrastructure within the company’s existing gas treatment plant on Barrow Island.

Rigorous assessment

EPA Chairman, Dr Paul Vogel, explained that the proposal had been rigorously assessed at the Authority’s highest level of environmental impact assessment - a Public Environmental Review (PER).

Vogel said: “Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), offshore gas pipeline installation activities and fourth train operation have the potential to impact on the environment.

Marine impact?

“The EPA carefully assessed the potential impacts to marine environmental quality, marine fauna, air quality and benthic communities and habitat and found that the proposal could be managed to meet the EPA’s objectives subject to the conditions in the existing Ministerial Statements issued for the original project. These conditions include management plans for marine environmental quality, HDD activities, gas pipeline installation, marine fauna, air quality and greenhouse gas abatement.”

The EPA’s report to the Minister for Environment is now open for a two-week public appeal period, closing 17 March 2015.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/03032015/gorgon-expansion-gets-epa-nod-354/