Australian govt gives its nod on Gorgon gas project

MELBOURNE: The Australian government today gave green signal to the construction of the Gorgon gas project on Barrow Island worth USD 50 billion off the West Australian coast on few conditions.

The project is a joint venture of Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, and will cost about USD 50 billion to construct.

According to the ABC report today, environment minister Peter Garret's formal approval of the project was expected after last week's announcement of selling liquified natural gas (LNG) from the yet-to-be developed gas field to China over the next 20 years.

The government had been criticised for announcing the billion dollar China deal before Garrett had officially signed off the project.

However, Garrett denies the announcement pressured him into signing off on the deal.

He said an extra 28 conditions have been imposed on the project to ensure that Barrow Island, which is a Class-A nature reserve, is adequately protected.

"I take my job as a regulator very seriously," he said, adding "I want to get the best results for the environment I can, consistent with the regulatory regime that I'm required to observe.