History of the North West Shelf Venture
In the early 1970s, the North West Shelf Venture participants discovered vast quantities of natural gas and condensate beneath the seabed on Australia's north-west continental shelf, marking the birth of Australia's largest oil and gas resource development.
Since then, the North West Shelf Venture has invested over A$27 billion in its facilities which today include offshore production platforms and subsea infrastructure, onshore processing and storage facilities at the Karratha Gas Plant, loading facilities, jetties, associated infrastructure and LNG ships.
The first phase of commercial development of the North West Shelf began in 1980 with the construction of the Venture's onshore domestic gas plant in Karratha, including the first two LNG processing trains, four LNG storage tanks and a jetty for the loading of LNG and condensate.
Construction of the North Rankin A offshore production platform and the 135 kilometre subsea pipeline to shore also formed part of the first phase of development, which followed agreement with the Western Australian government for 20-year gas supply contracts and government funding of the 1,500 kilometre Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.
In 1984 the North West Shelf Venture began delivering natural gas to Western Australia and today remains the State's largest single producer of domestic gas, currently responsible for about 65 per cent of total production.
In 1985, following the signing of sales agreements with eight major Japanese power and utility companies for long term LNG supply, work started on the second major phase of development - the construction of LNG processing and export facilities at the Karratha Gas Plant. After a four-year construction program, this significant undertaking was completed in 1989, enabling the first shipment of LNG to depart for Japan in July of that year.
The third major phase of development saw the completion in 1992 of a third LNG train, followed by the commissioning in 1995 of the Goodwyn A offshore production platform, located 23km south-west of the North Rankin A platform.
At the end of 1995, new LPG extraction facilities were commissioned and a second ship-loading jetty, adjacent to the LNG jetty, was built to load LPG and condensate. Debottlenecking of the onshore gas plant also lifted annual LNG production capacity to 7.5 million tonnes (2.5 million tonnes per year from each processing train).
Also in 1995, production of crude oil from the Cossack and Wanaea fields commenced from the Cossack Pioneer floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, with oil from the Hermes and Lambert fields coming on line in 1997.
In the year 2000, the North West Shelf Venture participants signed the first of a series of Letters of Intent with existing and some new Japanese customers that allowed for the fourth phase of expansion of the Venture's LNG facilities to begin.
Construction of a fourth LNG train with an annual capacity of 4.2 million tonnes began in early 2001, with first production achieved in 2004 - increasing the Venture's total annual LNG production capacity to 11.9 million tonnes.
In April 2003 the North West Shelf Venture signed a new seven year contract with Korean utility Kogas, and in March 2004 the Venture's seventh owned LNG carrier, the Northwest Swan, became part of its shipping fleet.
The fifth major phase of development - the Phase V LNG Expansion - began in August 2005 and involved the construction of a fifth LNG train capable of processing up to 4.4 million tonnes annually, a second LNG loading berth and associated infrastructure. Following a three year construction period, Train 5 produced first LNG in September 2008, boosting the Venture's total annual production capacity to 16.3 million tonnes.
During the fifth phase of development, the Venture made history when it delivered the first cargo of Australian LNG to China in June 2006, marking the start of a 25 year contract with Guangdong Dapeng LNG - at the time Australia's single largest export contract. Also at that time, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation acquired an interest in the North West Shelf Venture's reserves.
In March 2008 the North West Shelf Venture participants approved funding of the North Rankin Redevelopment Project, which involves the installation of a second offshore gas processing facility (North Rankin B) alongside the existing North Rankin A platform. The project is scheduled for progressive start-up in 2013.
Woodside acquired Shell Development Australia's 16.67 per cent interest in the North West Shelf oil interests in May 2008, and in December 2008 the five North West Shelf oil venture participants approved funding for the replacement of the Cossack Pioneer FPSO in 2010, and the replacement of associated subsea infrastructure.
In the meantime, the Venture's third offshore production facility, the Angel platform, produced first gas for processing at the Karratha Gas Plant in October 2008.
In 2009 the North West Shelf Venture celebrates 25 years of safe and reliable domestic gas supply to Western Australia, and 20 years of LNG supply to North Asia where the Venture provides power and gas for Japan's major industrial regions, including some 90 million Japanese people, as well as millions of consumers in Korea and China.
