The following is a media release issued by Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson on18 Aug 2009:
China Buys Australian Gas Worth $50 Billion - Our Biggest Trade Deal Ever
The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, today witnessed the signing of Australia’s biggest trade deal ever: the sale to China of Gorgon LNG (liquefied natural gas) worth an estimated $50 billion over the next 20 years.
Minister Ferguson said: “This agreement is testimony to the strength of Australia’s continuing trade and investment relationship with China. As China continues to develop as a modern global industrial and commercial powerhouse, Australia is committed to walking with it on its remarkable journey.
“This unprecedented export deal confirms Australia’s importance as a global energy superpower supplying vital clean energy resources and technologies to China and our other Asia-Pacific trading partners.
“It comes just a week after Australia’s first ever LNG contract with India: a multi-billion agreement between ExxonMobil and Petronet, also for Gorgon LNG.
“Yesterday, the Australian Government was pleased to announce its decision to jointly accept – with the Western Australian Government – any long term liability arising from the storage of CO2 from the Gorgon LNG project. This decision clears the way for the Gorgon joint venture partners – Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell – to make a final investment decision before the end of the year.”
Minister Ferguson said: “The $50 billion Gorgon LNG project will be the biggest single investment ever made in Australia, breaking the record set only a few years ago by the $12 billion Pluto LNG project now under construction in Western Australia.
“We are a country built on foreign investment and we continue to welcome investments that develop our resources for the benefit of all Australians. The Gorgon joint venture partners all have a proud history of investment in the development of Australia’s resources.
“Today, I particularly congratulate ExxonMobil – which has been part of the fabric of Australian business since 1895 – on closing this very significant agreement with PetroChina and bringing Gorgon yet another step closer to fruition.
“PetroChina is an increasingly important partner in the Australian LNG industry and I hope the relationship will be long and successful. I note that PetroChina also agreed key terms with Woodside during 2007 for the supply of 2-3 million tonnes of LNG over 15 to 20 years from the proposed Browse LNG project and I wish both companies every success in concluding that deal.”
The Gorgon project will guarantee a significant boost to Australia's export income with contracts to sell around $300 billion worth of LNG to customers in the Asia-Pacific over the next 20 years.
At home, Gorgon will deliver at least 150 TJ/day of domestic gas into the Western Australian market no later than 2015, increasing competition and easing supply side issues for Western Australian industry and households.
Gorgon will provide jobs for about 6,000 Australian workers at the peak of construction and buy about $33 billion worth of Australian goods and services over the next few years.
The project will also generate about $40 billion in revenue that will fund schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure for the state and the nation for decades to come.
Media contact: Michael Bradley (Canberra) – 0420 371 744
Tracey Winters (Beijing) – 0439 991 730
http://minister.ret.gov.au/TheHonMartinFergusonMP/Pages/ChinaBuysAustralianGasWorth$50Billion-OurBiggestTradeDealEver.aspx