The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Wednesday granted conditional interim authorization to the Gorgon Gas Project joint venture to engage in joint marketing of natural gas to customers in Western Australia.

The Gorgon field, which has potential reserves of more than 40 trillion cubic feet of gas, is located off the coast of Western Australia and is being developed by Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN).

Chevron is the largest owner of Gorgon, with a 50% stake, and Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon hold 25% each. Chevron has won conditional approval from an Australian regulator for an expanded Gorgon project and expects to make a final investment decision before the end of the year.

"The Gorgon Gas Project is a major greenfields project which will provide a new source of natural gas to the Western Australian market and will involve a substantial level of upfront investment by the joint venture participants," ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel said.

"The ACCC accepts that the joint venture participants need to engage with the market before making a final investment decision in relation to this major capital investment."

Interim approval allows the companies to engage with potential customers to obtain information relevant to their plans.

-By Cynthia Koons, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4691; cynthia.koons@dowjones.com