32-426: The North West Shelf Venture , situated in the north-west of Western Australia , is Australia's largest resource development project. It involves the extraction of petroleum (mostly natural gas and condensate ) at offshore production platforms , onshore processing and export of liquefied natural gas , and production of natural gas for industrial, commercial and domestic use within the state. North West Shelf gas
64-547: A considerable number of oil and gas wells, pipelines, production areas and support facilities. As an area it is located in the Indian Ocean between North West Cape and Dampier . Dampier is usually considered the main administrative locality for the shelf. The production areas are located offshore and within the jurisdiction of the Western Australian state government. The two main production areas are
96-472: A joint venture partner, Woodside is the project operator on behalf of the other participants. On 1 June 2022, BHP's Petroleum business merged with Woodside Energy. Woodside Energy now hold one-third shareholding in the North West Shelf project. Karratha Gas Plant The Karratha Gas Plant was built in the 1980s, originally including multiple LNG production trains. In 2008, the facility capacity
128-683: A single trunkline it is 1,530 kilometres (950 mi) long, extending from the Burrup Peninsula in the Pilbara region, to Bunbury in the south west of Western Australia . It supplies gas to industrial, commercial and residential customers in Perth and major regional centres along the pipeline route. It is covered by Western Australian pipeline licence PL-40. A number of lateral pipelines are connected to this pipeline, most of which are covered by separate licences, although PL-40 itself covers
160-836: Is 0.1% CO2. Utilizing the resource will aid several Asian countries in meeting their net 0 targets under the Paris agreement. In 2019, Woodside , and the Joint Venture partners, Chevron , Shell , BP , and Mimi, proposed to extend the life of the North West Shelf project, including the Karratha Gas Plant. The proposal is to extend the life of the fossil fuel project by another 50 years. The North West Shelf gas project, operated by Woodside outside Karratha in Western Australia's northwest, emerged as Australia's largest industrial emitter in 2020–21, as reported by
192-559: Is a continental shelf region of Western Australia . It includes an extensive oil and gas region off the North West Australia coast in the Pilbara region. Considerable parts of the region are the highest prospective gas and oil areas of Australia. The main sedimentary basin providing the opportunity is the Northern Carnarvon Basin - however it is only one part of the regional complex. It has
224-581: Is approximately 135 kilometres (84 mi) south of Dampier, where one of the sales gas pipelines from Varanus Island Processing Hub connects with the DBNGP. In June 2008, following a pipeline rupture and explosion at the Varanus Island facility , the DBNGP carried additional volumes of gas from the North West Shelf plant to the south-west of the state, for a period of several months. As
256-728: Is processed at the Woodside Energy operated Karratha Gas Plant , located on the Murujuga Cultural Landscape The North West Shelf Venture is often cited as the single largest industrial emitter for Australia according to the Clean Energy Regulator. With investments totalling $ 25 billion since the early 1980s, the project is the largest resource development in Australian history. In the late 1980s, it
288-513: Is the trading name of the DBNGP group of companies. DBP had two institutional shareholders: D.U.E.T. (Diversified Utilities and Energy Trusts) (80%) and Alcoa (20%) up until 2017. The DBNGP is currently owned and operated by Dampier Bunbury Pipeline (DBP), part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), Australian Gas Infrastructure Group is owned by various consortia of Hong Kong-based entities listed on
320-561: Is under construction: The condensate is transported to the Burrup Peninsula ( Murujuga ) onshore facility on the mainland 130 km away by two 42-inch (1.1 m) and 40-inch (1.0 m) undersea pipes. Other assets include: In March 2008, the partners approved a A$ 5 billion North Rankin 2 project which will underpin supply commitments to customers in Asia beyond 2013. The project will recover remaining low pressure gas from
352-594: The Burrup Peninsula , Barrow Island and other locations. This article about a location in Western Australia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline The Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP) is the longest natural gas pipeline in Australia. It is 660 millimetres (26 in) in diameter, which also makes it one of Australia's largest in terms of transmission capacity. At
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#1732772016878384-429: The Clean Energy Regulator. The independent Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia , advising the state government, has recommended extending the project's operation until 2070. The first two phases of the project received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . North West Shelf The North West Shelf
416-497: The Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The consortia include CK Asset Holdings (CKA), CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI), Power Assets Holdings (PAH) and CK Hutchison Holdings (CKH). When first constructed, the capacity of the system was 360 terajoules per day (1,200 kWh/s). A $ 150-million enhancement carried out in 1991 increased the capacity to 450 terajoules per day (1,400 kWh/s). The current capacity of
448-555: The Thevenard Production Area close to Onslow , and the Varanus Production Area west of Dampier. The North West Shelf oil extraction is negligible compared to the volume of gas produced. The North West Shelf Venture is a project to extract resources within the region from various gas fields - however it is considered to be only in part of the whole shelf region. It involves developments on
480-474: The actual pressure of the gas inside the line. In addition, the expansion involves a process of 'looping' the pipeline. This is the installation of additional lengths of pipe alongside, and connected to, the existing pipeline. The effect of looping is to provide additional capacity at critical sections of the main trunkline, thus increasing the total possible throughput. The DBNGP underwent a range of expansion projects under previous ownership structures. However,
512-471: The ageing North Rankin and Perseus gas fields using compression. It will include the installation of a new platform ( North Rankin B ) which will stand in about 125 metres of water and will be connected by a 100-metre bridge to the existing North Rankin A platform. The first LNG shipments went to Japan in 1989. Two hundred shipments per year (about one shipment every 1.5 days) in the purpose-built LNG carriers totalling more than seven million tons are made around
544-553: The capacity of the pipeline by over 300 terajoules per day (960 kWh/s) as well as enhancing the reliability of the pipeline and improving security of supply for customers. The Stage 4, Stage 5A and Stage 5B expansion projects have seen the pipeline owners inject $ 1.7 billion into the DBNGP. In the next 12 months, the final closure and completion of the Defects Liability Period will expire. The works include: The pipeline's corridor runs near and crosses
576-443: The consortium's Karratha facility, and transported to customers in southern Western Australia via the 1530 km Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline . A subsidiary company, North West Shelf Gas Pty Ltd markets the domestic gas component to customers in Western Australia through private contracts and sales to Alinta . The gas produced by the North West Shelf project is some of the lowest carbon gas energy on earth, which notably
608-475: The main trunkline and some laterals totalling a length of 1,789 kilometres (1,112 mi). The idea of a pipeline to transport gas from the North West Shelf to the south-west of Western Australia had its origins in 1975, following the discovery of large offshore reserves by WAPET and Woodside Petroleum . Around this time, the State Energy Commission of Western Australia (SECWA) reviewed
640-410: The market demand for gas in the south west. Engineering design commenced in 1979. and the pipeline was constructed between 1983 and 1984, with the extension south to Bunbury commissioned in 1985. Construction involved the welding of 127,000 sections of 12-metre (39 ft) pipe. Gas first flowed into the pipe on 16 August 1984. Following the disaggregation of SECWA in 1995, the pipeline came under
672-414: The most advanced have been undertaken by the current owners, who have invested in three major expansion projects since acquiring the asset, these projects are known as Stage 4 (constructed by Nacap Australia Pty Ltd), Stage 5A (constructed by Saipem ) and the most recent, Stage 5B (as constructed by McConnell Dowell ). These three projects were carried out in direct response to increasing demand for gas in
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#1732772016878704-520: The ownership and control of the government's gas utility, AlintaGas . As part of a government policy of privatisation, Alinta sold the pipeline in 1998 to Epic Energy , a consortium of two US pipeline companies (along with three Australian institutional shareholders) at a price of A$ 2.407 billion . Epic Energy owned and operated the pipeline for six years, eventually selling the pipeline in October 2004 to Dampier Bunbury Pipeline (DBP) Ltd, which
736-408: The pipeline has now been duplicated – effectively creating a second pipeline. This was achieved via a process known as looping. Looping involves installation of pipe lengths parallel to the existing asset. The expansion projects also required upgrade works on the pipeline's compressor stations, control and communications systems and metering equipment. The three expansions have increased
768-452: The pipeline is approximately 785 terajoules per day (2,520 kWh/s). The pipeline is currently undergoing a series of significant expansions in its capacity which are intended to increase the maximum throughput of the pipeline to 895 terajoules per day (2,880 kWh/s). The expansion project consists of two types of upgrade. Several of the pipeline's compressor stations will be upgraded with higher capacity gas turbines, thus increasing
800-421: The south-west of Western Australia. The owners worked closely with major gas customers to deliver the capacity required within the timeframes needed to support those customers' projects. Increasing the gas haulage capacity of the pipeline was crucial in supporting economic growth in Western Australia. The expansions were designed and built to meet DBP's contractual obligations. As a result of the expansions, 83% of
832-427: The state government had access to more attractive interest rates than the commercial venturers, the state agreed to fund and build (through SECWA) a 1,540-kilometre (960 mi) gas pipeline to transport the output from the domestic gas plant. In addition, SECWA entered into long term (20-year) take-or-pay contracts with the North West Shelf partners, in which SECWA agreed to pay for fixed volumes of gas which exceeded
864-493: The state's future gas requirements in conjunction with the partners in the North West Shelf consortium. The developers of the North West Shelf were in the preliminary stages of planning a system of production facilities based on the Rankin and Goodwyn fields (located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) off the coast of Dampier), linked to a liquefied natural gas processing plant and a domestic gas plant situated at Withnell Bay. As
896-504: The time of its commissioning in 1984, it was one of the longest gas pipelines in Australia. The pipeline runs within Western Australia from a point near Withnell Bay, on the Burrup Peninsula near Dampier , to Bunbury in the south-west of the state. It carries natural gas, most of which enters the pipeline at the domestic gas plant associated with the North West Shelf Venture project. The other main inlet point
928-676: The world. Markets include sales to long term customers in Japan and spot buyers in China , Spain , South Korea and the United States . To date, the venture has produced more than 1000 cargoes of light crude oil ( natural gas condensate ). Condensate is sold on the international energy market. In 2002, a contract was signed to supply 3 million tonnes of LNG a year from the North West Shelf Venture to China. The contract
960-464: Was increased to 16.3 million tonnes per year with the commissioning of a fifth, 4.4 million tonnes per year LNG production train. As well as processing gas for export, the facility supplies domestic supplies to consumers and businesses in Western Australia. The facility also processes condensate which is extracted from the gaseous hydrocarbons during processing. The venture currently has three currently active offshore facilities. A fourth, North Rankin B
992-639: Was the largest engineering project in the world. The Venture is underpinned by huge hydrocarbon reserves within the Carnarvon Basin , with only about one-third of the Venture's estimated total reserves of 33 trillion cubic feet (930 km) of gas produced to date. It was owned by a joint venture of six partners – BHP , BP , Chevron , Shell , Woodside Petroleum and a 50:50 joint venture between Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Co – with each holding an equal one-sixth shareholding. Along with being
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1024-400: Was worth $ 25 billion: between $ 700 million and $ 1 billion a year for 25 years. The price was guaranteed not to increase until 2031, and, as international LNG prices were increasing, by 2015 China was paying one-third as were Australian consumers. The venture is Western Australia's largest single producer of domestic gas providing about 65% of total State production. Pipeline gas is processed at
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