ExxonMobil Corp. announced plans for an offshore LNG development using the world's biggest floating natural gas processing plant.
Exxon and partner BHP Billiton Ltd. want to anchor an LNG-FPSO vessel extending 495 meters at sea to tap into the remote Scarborough natural gas field offshore Western Australia.
They're seeking government approval for the multi-billion dollar project, and targeting first production as early as 2020.
Exxon's proposed facility would produce between 6 million and 7 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, a year for several decades.
Early design work would begin next year, ahead of a final investment decision in 2014-15, Exxon said in a filing to the federal government's environment department.
Meanwhile, back in 2011, Shell committed to use a FLNG vessel to process natural gas from its Prelude field in the Browse Basin offshore northwestern Australia. The vessel is due to begin producing 3.6 million tons of LNG each year from 2017.