Chevron Australia’s Gorgon Gas Development Fourth Train Expansion Proposal, which is expected to expand the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity on Barrow Island from 15 to 20 million tonnes per annum, has been recommended for conditional approval by the Environmental Protection Authority.
The Fourth Train Expansion Proposal would involve drilling new production wells and installing new subsea infrastructure in Commonwealth waters, 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.
Existing infrastructure constructed as part of the original project will be used to export products generated by the Fourth Train Expansion Proposal.
EPA Chairman Dr Paul Vogel said the Fourth Train Expansion Proposal had been rigorously assessed at the Authority’s highest level of environmental impact assessment - a Public Environmental Review (PER).
“Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), offshore gas pipeline installation activities and fourth train operation have the potential to impact on the environment,” Dr Vogel said.
“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 March 17, 2015. Appeals are administered independently by the Appeals Convenor and can be made at www.appealsconvenor.wa.gov.au.
The Minister for Environment will make the final decision.
The EPA’s report 1539 can be found at www.epa.wa.gov.au.
EPA Media Contact: Nadia Miraudo 0400 866 450 / Stacey Molloy 0437 861 315 (Fridays)
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