Second Australia Floating LNG Project Planned

Exxon Mobil plans to develop a floating liquefied natural gas project to develop the Scarborough field off the coast of Western Australia.

Exxon, whose partner in the field is Melbourne-based BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), expects to make a decision on whether to go ahead with the floating LNG venture in 2014 or 2015, with the project starting production in 2020 or 2021, reports Bloomberg.

In Australia, Shell is developing the Prelude floating LNG vessel -- expected to be as long as the Empire State Building and weigh six times as much as the biggest aircraft carrier -- after costs for onshore LNG plants in the country surged. While Exxon’s floating LNG facility in the Carnarvon Basin off northwest Australia is expected to be about 495 meters (1,624 feet) long and 75 meters wide.

Source: Bloomberg