Gorgon Gas Project Expansion Approved

A proposal to expand the Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island in Western Australia has been approved by WA's environmental watchdog. The Environmental Protection Authority said yesterday it was satisfied that increasing Chevron's footprint on the island from 300ha to 332ha was ecologically acceptable provided it met certain conditions. The authority has recommended Chevron offset the impact to the area by extending a program to transfer and reintroduce threatened species for a further two years.

UGL wins Gorgon maintenance contract

Engineering group UGL has been awarded a five-year contract to maintain energy giant Chevron's Western Australia gas assets.

UGL will undertake mechanical and electrical work on Chevron's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

UGL expects work to begin on the Gorgon gas project in the first half of calendar 201 and says the multi-million contract could be extended beyond the five-year term.

"We are very proud to have been selected by Chevron to provide maintenance services across the company's portfolio of critical oil and gas assets in Western Australia," UGL chief executive Richard Leupen said in a statement.

Theiss wins $212m Gorgon gas project contract

Thiess has won a new contract worth $212 million for work on Chevron's $52 billion Gorgon project in Western Australia.
Thiess will deliver ‘miscellaneous civil works’ at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project over the next two years under the new contract, it said today.
The company already holds contracts for other work at Gorgon and Chevron's Wheatstone LNG project, also in WA.

Union says illegal workers on Gorgon gas project

The Maritime Union claims a number of illegal immigrants are working on the Gorgon gas project.
The union claims that a sub-contractor of Chevron is employing crane operators and deck hands on tourist visas and paying them below award wages.

"It's just a cheap grab for labour, cheap labour that it is on these multi-multi-billion dollar projects, it's a joke" said MUA Deputy National Secretary Mick Dolman.

Chevron looking to expand Gorgon gas project

Chevron is aiming to approve an expansion of the Gorgon gas project within 2 years. The news was released by Chevron's vice president of technology and services, Jim Blackwell, at a briefing for analysts in New York. More that $US25 billion worth of contracts have been awarded so far at the Gorgon gas project.

Clough wins $300m Gorgon contract

Clough Ltd has won a $300 million contract for work on the Gorgon gas project in Western Australia.

"The work involves the transportation and installation of approximately 90km of 50cm pipeline, both offshore and onshore, from Barrow Island to the Dampier Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline," Clough said.

Clough said engineering and procurement would commence immediately. Site work is expected to start and finish in 2012.

Leighton wins Gorgon contract

A subsidiary of Leighton has won a massive contract to deliver civil and underground works on the Gorgon gas project. The $800m contract is in addition to the company's current Gorgon work which include a jetty and marine structures.

Mermaid Marine secures Gorgon contract

Mermaid Marine has secured a shipping contract for the Gorgon gas project. The 3-year contract is worth more than $80 million and includes the provision of a towing tug, barge and landing craft. The barge will be uses to transport fuel from the mainland to the Gorgon site.

Chevron board may visit Gorgon site

The board of Chevron is to visit Perth at the end of this month to mark the first anniversary of its decision to approve the Gorgon gas project in Western Australia. Considering the board is making the trip from Houston to Perth, it would be strange for them not to go that little bit further and visit the Gorgon site during their stay in Western Austalia. Chevron's board includes a former Daimler Chrysler co-chairman and the current chairman of Wells Fargo.

Fairstar wins Gorgon contracts

Two transportation contracts for the Gorgon gas project have been awarded to Fairstar Heavy Transport. Under the terms of the agreements, Fairstar will provide its two semi-submersible heavy transport vessels for the transportation of modules and related project materials from various construction sites to to Gorgon gas project site on Barrow Island.

Gorgon and Wheatstone to create over 16,000 jobs at peak

Chevron has said that it expects the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects to create 16,500 jobs at their peak.
The Gorgon gas project is expected to supply 8% of global lng when fully operational.

Gorgon contract won by Kencana

Kencana of Malaysia has won a $51.7 million contract for fabrication work in the Gorgon gas project. As part of the contract the company will supply pre-assembled racks for the fabrication of the marine and jetty structures at the Gorgon project site.

Gorgon workers to live on luxury liner

Chevron has announced plans to house Gorgon construction workers on a luxury liner. The workers will live there until a permanent settlement is built on Barrow Island. The liner is called the Finnmarken and is from Norway. The vessel can accommodate 350 workers.

Gorgon workers to be paid up to $150,000 a year

Gorgon contractor Thiess has agreed to pay labourers and tradesmen up to $150,000-a-year. Workers will get a 9 day break every 26 days and up to 5 weeks annual leave.
The head of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Kevin Reynold said @I wouldn't say they're massive pay rises, but it's a reasonable settlement for an agreement for workers who have got to work in some of the harshest conditions in the bloody country and work 70 hours a week to achieve that sort of money.".

New gas find could boost Gorgon

A new gas discovery offshore in Western Australia could be a new supply of gas for the massive Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island. Chevron Australia managing director Roy Krzywosinski welcomed the new discovery. The gas find is in the Yellowglen-1 exploration well around 250 kilometres north-west of Onslow.

Royal Boskalis Westminster to start work on Gorgon port

Royal Boskalis Westminster is due to start work soon on the port for the Gorgon gas project. The port project is worth $720 million. Royal Boskalis Westminster is a Netherlands-based company. It is claimed to have the world's largest dredging fleet.

Gorgon project could get bigger: Chevron

Chevron has said that it would like to expand its recently announced Gorgon liquefied-natural-gas project in Western Australia, but that will depend on the available reserves and completion of third production train.

"From Day One, we've always looked at a master plan that would allow us to put five trains on the island," Chevron's George Kirkland said on the sidelines of the World Gas Conference.

In addition to Chevron's operating stake of 50% in Gorgon, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell PLC each hold a 25% share.

Gorgon to generate 10,000 jobs

The massive Gorgon Gas Project in Western Australia is expected to create up to 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. Already around 1,000 people are already working on Gorgon's design and procurement. Chevron has already received a number of unsolicited applications from jobseekers for all operations, engineering, supply chain and logistics areas.

Gorgon logistics services contract won by DB Schenker

The Integrated Logistics Services (ILS) contract for the Gorgon Gas Project has been won by DB Schenker. The contract is worth around AU$590 million.

Ron Koehler, CEO Schenker Australia Pty Ltd, commented: "We have a successful track record in upstream and downstream oil and gas projects given our ability to deliver services on time and in budget. We are proud to be part of such a significant project as Gorgon and committed to deliver a best in class service. Already we have in place a core project team, whose numbers will be growing significantly following the commencement of operations on the 15th of September 2009."

Contractors vie to secure Gorgon gas deals

The Gorgon gas project has contractors lining up for a slice of the $43 billion it is expected to cost to build. Already $2 billion has been signed-off and about 1,400 new jobs created.
One of the contractors who has recently secured a Gorgon deal is Compass Australia, which won a 150 million three-year contract to feed workers on the gas project.
The company is planning to hire 1,000 people in WA during the next 8 months.

The Gorgon project, Australia's all time biggest resources project, is due to start producing gas for sale in 2014.