Australia
Chevron Corp. expects its Wheatstone gas project in Australia to gain environmental approval in the first quarter of 2011, allowing the second-largest U.S. energy producer to start construction in the second half of next year. The liquefied natural gas venture may have as many as six processing units and produce as much as 25 million metric tons of fuel per year, Chevron Australia said in an environmental review filed on its website. Each Wheatstone unit will be capable of producing 4 million to 7 million tons annually. Chevron aims to make a decision to proceed with Wheatstone in the middle of next year, a development timeline shows. The Wheatstone and Gorgon projects, among more than a dozen proposed LNG ventures in Australia targeting an increase in Asian demand for cleaner-burning fuel, are “centerpieces” of Chevron’s global growth plans, the company says on its local website. The A$43 billion Gorgon project, which Chevron says is Australia’s largest resources development, is due to begin LNG exports in 2014 from a three-unit, 15 million ton-a-year facility and may add a fourth and fifth processing unit.

 
China
China Natural Gas, Inc., a leading provider of compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicular fuel and pipeline natural gas for industrial, commercial, and residential use in Xi’an, China, announced that a ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and modified by the company successfully completed its test navigation in Wuhan on Aug. 3. The historic event is the first time an LNG-powered ship has navigated in China’s domestic waterways, demonstrating that LNG can be used both in cars and ships as a transportation fuel. The company succeeded in fueling a tugboat weighing over 300 tons with LNG for Wuhan Ferry Co. The ship now runs on a fuel formula of 30% diesel and 70% natural gas, representing significant energy and cost savings. “The marketing of LNG-powered ships will be implemented on a full scale in the forthcoming years,”  the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the company, Qinan Ji, said, adding that the company’s latest success proves that advanced dual-fuel hybrid power technology for ships is an economical, reliable, and energy-saving environmental technology. He noted that ship modification engineering is a leading technology in China, “and we plan to apply for the appropriate patents in ship modification.” 

 
Abu Dhabi 
McDermott International, Inc. said one of its subsidiaries was awarded a contract to upgrade and enhance a water injection system for Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Co. (ADMA-OPCO) in the Zakum field. The contract value is expected to be about $350 million and is included in McDermott’s second-quarter 2010 bookings. Located approximately 48 nautical miles northwest of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the field includes five water injection platform modules at Zakum West Super Complex and two modules at Zakum Central Super Complex which are used to maintain pressure in the surrounding wells.

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