Australian

With the state’s chief energy regulator publicly advocating eventually two offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals for California, Australian oil/gas exploration and development behemoth Woodside Energy Ltd. will announce Wednesday in Sacramento a fourth proposed LNG project for the state. Its location is unspecified and it is billed as not needing a receiving terminal, according to a report in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times.

Chevron Corp.’s Australian unit has signed a “heads of agreement” with Japan’s Osaka Gas Co. Ltd. to deliver 1.5 million metric tons/year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon Project beginning in 2011. The parties also are discussing a possible sale of equity interest in the project, which is jointly owned by Chevron (50%), Royal Dutch Shell (25%) and ExxonMobil Corp. (25%).

Australian-based Macquarie Bank Group said Thursday it plans to acquire Los Angeles-based energy marketer Cook Inlet Energy Supply LLC for an undisclosed price. Founded in 1991, Cook Inlet provides physical natural gas trading, transportation and storage services to North American natural gas producers, utilities, wholesalers, and industrial end users.

Australian exploration and production giant Woodside Petroleum Ltd. said Thursday that its U.S. production arm expanded its offshore interests in the Gulf of Mexico by acquiring Houston-based Gryphon Exploration Co., a joint venture between Cheniere Energy Inc. and Warburg Pincus.

ChevronTexaco Corp., ExxonMobil Corp. and Royal Dutch/Shell Group agreed last week to jointly develop some natural gas fields off the Australian coast, which eventually would result in sending liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Asia and the North American West Coast.

ChevronTexaco Corp., ExxonMobil Corp. and Royal Dutch/Shell Group have agreed to jointly develop some natural gas fields off the Australian coast that eventually would result in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Asia and the North American West Coast.

Following one day after a ChevronTexaco (CVX) affiliate made similar news, Shell Gas & Power on Tuesday announced that it has exchanged letters of understanding with Australia’s Gorgon joint venture for the long-term supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Shell’s proposed LNG importation and regasification terminal in Baja California, Mexico.

In another push for added liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports into North America, a ChevronTexaco (CVX) affiliate on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gorgon Joint Venture in Australia for up to two million tons annually of LNG supplies to West Coast markets. Based on the terms of the MOU, the affiliate will enter confidential negotiations with Gorgon Joint Venture, in which CVX will hold the majority interest and act as the operator.

Coral Energy of Houston bought a liquefied natural gas (LNG)cargo from the North West Shelf Venture in Australia for deliveryinto the United States. The cargo of about 2.9 Bcf is Coral’ssecond recent LNG purchase.