Woodside Strikes Preliminary Deal With WA Government On LNG Hub
October 05 2009 - 12:53AM
Dow Jones News
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) has signed a preliminary
agreement with the government of Western Australia state for the
development of a liquefied natural gas processing precinct at James
Price Point in the state's north west.
The government said Monday the agreement will accelerate key
studies and planning into the project and will see Woodside
appointed as the foundation commercial proponent for the
precinct.
"This agreement is an important step in securing a development
which could bring hundreds of long-term jobs, millions of
investment dollars and long-term economic diversification," Western
Australian Premier Colin Barnett said in a statement.
Woodside plans to pipe gas from the giant Browse gas field to
James Price Point in the Kimberley region for processing.
However, its partners at Browse, including Chevron Corp. (CVX)
and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP.AU), are not convinced this is the best
option and instead favor piping gas to the North West Shelf
processing facilities in the Pilbara region to the south.
-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094;
alex.wilson@dowjones.com