Splurging 2 billion dollars! Chevron Corporation (CVX.US) increases investment in Australia's largest LNG project.

Energy giant Chevron Corporation (CVX.US) and its joint venture partners in Australia announced in a statement on Friday that they have made a final investment decision to further develop the large Gorgon gas project in Western Australia. As part of the Gorgon Stage Three development, Chevron Corporation Australia and its partners, including Exxon Mobil Corporation and Shell, will invest 3 billion Australian dollars (approximately 2 billion US dollars) to connect two offshore gas fields to the existing infrastructure and processing facilities on Barrow Island. They will also drill six new wells. The Gorgon project is located on the remote Barrow Island in northwestern Australia and is the largest resources development project in Australia's history, producing approximately 15.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually. The IEA predicts that after a slowdown in natural gas demand growth in 2025, demand will accelerate in 2026, reaching a historical high. The significant increase in LNG supply is expected to alleviate pressure on market fundamentals and promote strong growth in demand from price-sensitive markets in Asia. The agency also forecasts that global natural gas consumption will reach a historical high in 2026, with demand growth accelerating to around 2% amid a slowing supply backdrop. The industrial and energy sectors are expected to account for about half of the new natural gas demand. It is projected that natural gas demand for power generation will contribute 30% to demand growth in 2026.