Chevron project in Australia clears big hurdle
Chevron recently completed the topsides floatover installation on the company’s offshore platform involved with the massive Wheatstone LNG project in Australia.
The topside is among the heaviest in the world, as it weighs over 36,000 tonnes. Just lifting the structure 20 metres to prepare it for transportation is a daunting challenge for engineers.
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The liquefied natural gas plant has been under construction in Western Australia’s Ashburton North Strategic Industrial area, and is nearly 60 per cent complete. Below is a video released by Chevron showing part of the latest project.
That same day, Chevron released this video of overall status of this major venture.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the byproduct of natural gas being chilled to negative 162 degrees Celsius and stripped of contaminants such as water, mercury and others. This produces LNG, which takes up about 1/600 of the volume of gaseous methane.
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The purpose of this costly process is to aid in logistics. With a lot less space taken up, tankers are able to transport much more LNG than natural gas, which allows deliveries to stay competitive in a low-price environment.