Wesfarmers LPG Pty Ltd are currently constructing an LPG extraction facility at Kwinana, adjacent to Mason Road, and opposite the proposed site for the Petrochemical Industries Company Limited (PICL) proposal. The facility is designed to extract 150,000 tonnes per annum of propane and butane, with the intention of returning the remaining gases, principally methane and ethane, to the natural gas pipeline for sale to traditional natural gas customers.
The supply of ethane is essential to the proposal put forward by PICL, which is assessed in EPA Bulletin 331. North West Shelf gas contains approximately 6% of ethane, and represents the only natural source in Western Australia.
It is proposed to modify and extend the plant to enable up to 177,000 tonnes per annum of ethane to be extracted as well. Virtually no increase in risks and hazards on the LPG facility site is expected, as the principal risks are due to export and storage of ethane. Ethane will be exported via pipeline to refrigerated storage on the PICL site. The risks and hazards associated with the pipeline and the storage facility have been taken into account in the Technical Study of the Petrochemical Industries proposal. (Appendix 4 of the PICL Assessment Report (Bulletin 331)).
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