Regional LNG: Australia's Gorgon to bid S. Korea LNG tender: Report
Friday, September 17 2004 - 07:05 AM WIB
A successful bid by the Gorgon project, off the coast of Western Australia, could seal a final go-ahead decision for the development which is hinging on sales of at least another 2 MTPA of LNG.
Peter Glass, Gorgon Australia LNG vice president, declined to say how much LNG the project was seeking to supply but said it would not be for the entire tender amount.
"We are certainly in the process of putting together a bid. The deadline for bids is imminent -- certainly within this month," Glass told Reuters on Friday.
"It is well known KOGAS is seeking a number of combinations of demand which overall approximate to 5-6 million tons per year and we are looking at several options," he added.
The ChevronTexaco Corp. -operated project, which won a massive fillip last year with a A$30 billion agreement to supply 80 million to 100 million tons of LNG to China over 25 years, has set a final investment decision deadline of mid-2005.
Gorgon wants to deliver its first gas from late 2008. The 10 MTPA capacity project has so far signed preliminary agreements for maximum annual sales of 8 million tons.
ChevronTexaco has a 57.1 percent interest in the Gorgon project, while the Royal Dutch/Shell Group owns 28.6 percent and ExxonMobil Corp 14.3 percent.
KOGAS, the world's single-largest buyer of LNG, announced the tender last month.
It sent invitations to 11 upstream gas projects in nine countries, saying it was seeking the supplies to replace a long-term contract with Indonesia due to expire in 2007 and to meet LNG demand starting from 2008.
KOGAS, South Korea's sole LNG importer and wholesaler, imports 19.4 million tons of LNG every year under long and medium-term supply contracts with Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Brunei, Qatar and Australia's North West Shelf.
Long-term contracts typically have a 15-20 year life. (*)