Woodside plans a U.S. gas hub by 2010 - Marketplace by Bloomberg - International Herald Tribune

Woodside plans a U.S. gas hub by 2010
By Angela Macdonald-Smith Bloomberg News

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006


SYDNEY The Australian company Woodside Petroleum said Thursday that it aimed to start LNG exports to California in 2010, rivaling a timetable set by a larger competitor, BHP Billiton.

Woodside expects to lodge a planning application within two months for a liquefied natural gas import terminal off the coast of Los Angeles, said Jane Cutler, president of Woodside Natural Gas.

The depot and the associated pipeline may cost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, with extra investment needed to build specialized tankers to deliver the gas, she said.

Woodside and BHP Billiton are seeking to tap California's burgeoning demand for gas. Woodside on Wednesday named a site about 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, off the coast near Los Angeles as the site of its OceanWay project.

"Getting a foothold in the North American market has always been difficult and it looks as if that might be starting to take shape for Woodside," said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney. "The market would be encouraged by that."

Woodside's project would consist of a buoy and pipeline network that would feed ships that can convert LNG back to its gaseous form on board, avoiding the construction of a permanent terminal that might raise objections from the public. The company aims initially to deliver fuel to the depot from its proposed 7 billion Australian dollar, or $5.1 billion, Pluto project off Western Australia.

Getting approval for the OceanWay project from the Californian State Lands Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and other regulators may take from 18 months to 24 months, Cutler said in an interview. Building the tankers may take about three years. Woodside has not decided how many tankers it will need, and cannot say how much the whole project may cost, she said.

Woodside has held initial talks with potential gas customers in California, who are "very interested in an additional supply of natural gas into the market," Cutler said.

BHP Billiton has been seeking approval since 2003 for its rival $800 million Cabrillo Port LNG import terminal off Ventura County, to the north of Woodside's site. Regulators are due to decide whether to grant approval this year.

SYDNEY The Australian company Woodside Petroleum said Thursday that it aimed to start LNG exports to California in 2010, rivaling a timetable set by a larger competitor, BHP Billiton.

Woodside expects to lodge a planning application within two months for a liquefied natural gas import terminal off the coast of Los Angeles, said Jane Cutler, president of Woodside Natural Gas.

The depot and the associated pipeline may cost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, with extra investment needed to build specialized tankers to deliver the gas, she said.

Woodside and BHP Billiton are seeking to tap California's burgeoning demand for gas. Woodside on Wednesday named a site about 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, off the coast near Los Angeles as the site of its OceanWay project.

"Getting a foothold in the North American market has always been difficult and it looks as if that might be starting to take shape for Woodside," said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney. "The market would be encouraged by that."

Woodside's project would consist of a buoy and pipeline network that would feed ships that can convert LNG back to its gaseous form on board, avoiding the construction of a permanent terminal that might raise objections from the public. The company aims initially to deliver fuel to the depot from its proposed 7 billion Australian dollar, or $5.1 billion, Pluto project off Western Australia.

Getting approval for the OceanWay project from the Californian State Lands Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and other regulators may take from 18 months to 24 months, Cutler said in an interview. Building the tankers may take about three years. Woodside has not decided how many tankers it will need, and cannot say how much the whole project may cost, she said.

Woodside has held initial talks with potential gas customers in California, who are "very interested in an additional supply of natural gas into the market," Cutler said.

BHP Billiton has been seeking approval since 2003 for its rival $800 million Cabrillo Port LNG import terminal off Ventura County, to the north of Woodside's site. Regulators are due to decide whether to grant approval this year.

SYDNEY The Australian company Woodside Petroleum said Thursday that it aimed to start LNG exports to California in 2010, rivaling a timetable set by a larger competitor, BHP Billiton.

Woodside expects to lodge a planning application within two months for a liquefied natural gas import terminal off the coast of Los Angeles, said Jane Cutler, president of Woodside Natural Gas.

The depot and the associated pipeline may cost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, with extra investment needed to build specialized tankers to deliver the gas, she said.

Woodside and BHP Billiton are seeking to tap California's burgeoning demand for gas. Woodside on Wednesday named a site about 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, off the coast near Los Angeles as the site of its OceanWay project.

"Getting a foothold in the North American market has always been difficult and it looks as if that might be starting to take shape for Woodside," said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney. "The market would be encouraged by that."

Woodside's project would consist of a buoy and pipeline network that would feed ships that can convert LNG back to its gaseous form on board, avoiding the construction of a permanent terminal that might raise objections from the public. The company aims initially to deliver fuel to the depot from its proposed 7 billion Australian dollar, or $5.1 billion, Pluto project off Western Australia.

Getting approval for the OceanWay project from the Californian State Lands Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and other regulators may take from 18 months to 24 months, Cutler said in an interview. Building the tankers may take about three years. Woodside has not decided how many tankers it will need, and cannot say how much the whole project may cost, she said.

Woodside has held initial talks with potential gas customers in California, who are "very interested in an additional supply of natural gas into the market," Cutler said.

BHP Billiton has been seeking approval since 2003 for its rival $800 million Cabrillo Port LNG import terminal off Ventura County, to the north of Woodside's site. Regulators are due to decide whether to grant approval this year.

SYDNEY The Australian company Woodside Petroleum said Thursday that it aimed to start LNG exports to California in 2010, rivaling a timetable set by a larger competitor, BHP Billiton.

Woodside expects to lodge a planning application within two months for a liquefied natural gas import terminal off the coast of Los Angeles, said Jane Cutler, president of Woodside Natural Gas.

The depot and the associated pipeline may cost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, with extra investment needed to build specialized tankers to deliver the gas, she said.

Woodside and BHP Billiton are seeking to tap California's burgeoning demand for gas. Woodside on Wednesday named a site about 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, off the coast near Los Angeles as the site of its OceanWay project.

"Getting a foothold in the North American market has always been difficult and it looks as if that might be starting to take shape for Woodside," said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets Funds Management in Sydney. "The market would be encouraged by that."

Woodside's project would consist of a buoy and pipeline network that would feed ships that can convert LNG back to its gaseous form on board, avoiding the construction of a permanent terminal that might raise objections from the public. The company aims initially to deliver fuel to the depot from its proposed 7 billion Australian dollar, or $5.1 billion, Pluto project off Western Australia.

Getting approval for the OceanWay project from the Californian State Lands Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and other regulators may take from 18 months to 24 months, Cutler said in an interview. Building the tankers may take about three years. Woodside has not decided how many tankers it will need, and cannot say how much the whole project may cost, she said.

Woodside has held initial talks with potential gas customers in California, who are "very interested in an additional supply of natural gas into the market," Cutler said.

BHP Billiton has been seeking approval since 2003 for its rival $800 million Cabrillo Port LNG import terminal off Ventura County, to the north of Woodside's site. Regulators are due to decide whether to grant approval this year.