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Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
09PERTH54	2009-12-10 05:16	2011-08-30 01:44	UNCLASSIFIED	Consulate Perth

VZCZCXRO2030
RR RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHPT #0054/01 3440516
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100516Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL PERTH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0438
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0444
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE 0331
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 0470
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0336
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0021
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0021
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0017
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0021
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PERTH 000054 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB MONOSSON 
DOE FOR JEFF SKEER 
USDOC FOR 3132/USFCS/OIO/EAP/JRULAND 
USDOC FOR 4530/MAC/EAP/OPB/GPAINE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET EINV ENRG AS
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA:  WHEATSTONE GAS AND EQUITY TO JAPAN 
 
REF: A. REF A.  CANBERRA 630 
     ¶B. REF B.  PERTH 40 
 
PERTH 00000054  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  Less than a week after breaking ground on the US$37 
billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, U.S. oil and 
gas company Chevron announced a cornerstone gas and equity 
agreement with Japan for its majority-owned Wheatstone LNG 
project in Western Australia.  The estimated A$90 billion (US$82 
billion) heads of agreement with Tokyo Electric Power is an 
important step forward for the project which is seeking to be 
Australia's fourth producing LNG processing plant in 2016.  The 
deal is also likely to enhance the prospect of the federal 
government renewing several gas field retention leases under its 
new "use it or lose it" approach (Ref A). END SUMMARY 
 
 
 
Japan is Wheatstone Foundation Customer 
 
 
 
¶2. Chevron announced December 5 that Tokyo Electric Power 
Company (TEPCO) has agreed to buy 4.1 million tons per year 
(mtpa) of LNG over the next 20 years from the WA-based 
Wheatstone project.  TEPCO will also take a 15-percent equity 
share in Wheatstone's gas fields and an 11.25-percent share in 
the gas processing facility which is proposed for an onshore 
location near Onslow in WA's northwest.  Media reports estimate 
the value of the deal at A$90 billion (US$82 billion), although 
company officials have not confirmed this figure. 
 
 
 
Planning Well Underway 
 
 
 
¶3. The foundation gas sale with TEPCO covers almost half of 
Wheatstone's initial planned LNG production of 8.6 mtpa. 
Project officials believe production could reach 25 mtpa through 
deals with holders of nearby gasfields.  In October subsidiaries 
of U.S. Apache Corporation and of Kuwait's Foreign Petroleum 
Exploration Company agreed to supply gas to the proposed 
Wheatstone LNG plant, in exchange for equity stakes (16.25 and 
8.75 percent respectively).  Chevron officials say the company 
will make a final investment decision on Wheatstone in 2011 with 
production planned to start in about 2016.  Chevron already has 
550 staff working on the project and expects to create up to 
6500 direct and indirect jobs during the construction. 
 
 
 
Federal and State Officials Welcome the Deal 
 
 
 
¶4. Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson welcomed the deal, 
saying that the expanding suite of LNG investments will 
transform Australia into an "energy superpower."  The Reserve 
Bank has forecast that LNG exports could increase fourfold by 
2020, joining coal and iron ore as the country's biggest 
exports.  WA Premier Colin Barnett lauded the deal as the 
largest-ever Australian export sales contract, bigger than 
ExxonMobil's A$50 billion (US$45 billion) LNG sale to China in 
August from the Gorgon project. Long-term export sales contracts 
for Australian gas exceed A$500 billion this year. 
 
 
 
Comment:  Australia's 4th LNG Project? 
 
 
 
¶5. The agreement with TEPCO, a respected veteran LNG customer, 
boosts Wheatstone's feasibility ranking among the large slate of 
Australian LNG projects (Ref B). With Inpex' announcement of a 
delay to its Ichthyus project for Darwin, Wheatstone could 
become Australia's fourth producing LNG facility sometime 
mid-decade. The gas sale should also help Chevron in the face of 
 
PERTH 00000054  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
likely pressure from the government on its holding retention 
leases for Wheatstone fields (Septel). Possible labor and 
equipment shortages associated with the Gorgon project could 
delay Wheatstone's ambitious timeline, potentially causing 
problems if the government refuses to renew its leases. END 
COMMENT 
CHERN

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Viewing cable 09PERTH54, AUSTRALIA: WHEATSTONE GAS AND EQUITY TO JAPAN