Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) subsidiary Chevron Australia Pty Ltd today announced first gas from the North West Shelf Venture’s Train 5 onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility at the Karratha Gas Plant in Western Australia.

The US $2.1 billion (Aus $2.6 billion) new Train 5 production facility is now online and is expected to increase the joint venture’s export capacity by up to 4.4 million tonnes of LNG annually to 16.3 million tonnes.

President of Chevron’s Asia Pacific Exploration and Production Company, Jim Blackwell, said, “The North West Shelf Project is one of the largest in the world. The addition of a fifth LNG train demonstrates Chevron’s commitment to expanding its global natural gas business. LNG continues to be a major focus of Chevron’s gas commercialization strategy. Over the next decade, we expect natural gas production to grow as a proportion of Chevron’s total production,” said Blackwell.

Roy Krzywosinski, Managing Director of Chevron Australia, added, “Chevron continues to make significant multi-million dollar investments to expand our Australian operations. We are proud to be a part of the North West Shelf Venture that has played an important role in providing clean and reliable energy to Western Australia and the Asia Pacific market for 20 years.”

The Train 5 expansion includes: a fifth LNG processing train, a jetty extension and second LNG loading berth, two additional power generation units, a third LPG fractionation unit, a new fuel gas compressor, an acid gas removal unit and a third boil off gas compressor.

Chevron holds a one-sixth interest in the joint venture. In addition to Chevron's subsidiary, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd., the other North West Shelf venture participants also holding a one-sixth interest are: BHP Billiton (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd., BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd., Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd., Shell Development (Australia) Proprietary Ltd., and Operator Woodside Energy Ltd. CNOOC NWS Private Limited is also part of the venture but does not have an interest in its infrastructure.

Through its Australian subsidiary, Chevron has been present in Australia for more than 50 years. It operates the planned Gorgon and Wheatstone Projects, the Barrow Island and Thevenard Island oilfields and is a foundation partner in the North West Shelf Venture (natural gas, crude oil and condensate) and in the Browse LNG development.