FACTBOX-Australia's Gorgon, giant LNG source for Asia

Sept 14 - Australia's A$43 billion ($37 billion) Gorgon liquified natural gas project got the green light from operator Chevron Corp and its partners on Monday.

Following are some facts about Gorgon:

THE PROJECT:

Gorgon is the largest resource project ever built in Australia, eclipsing the A$27 billion North West Shelf LNG project operated by Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

It will be underpinned by the Greater Gorgon gas fields, which lie 130-200 km off Australia's northwest coast. The fields contain gas resources of about 40 trillion cubic feet, Australia's largest-known gas resource.

For a map of the Gorgon project and other Asia LNG plants: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/089/AU_LNGTRM0809.gif

OWNERS:

Chevron Corp 47.75 percent stake; operator

Royal Dutch Shell 25 pct

Exxon Mobil Corp 25 pct

Tokyo Gas Co 1 pct

Osaka Gas 1.25 pct

CAPACITY:

The original project plan for two trains totalling 10 million tonnes per annum received government approval in 2007.

The partners decided to add a third train to scale up to 15 mtpa, setting off a new round of approval processes.

BUYERS:

Venture partners are marketing separately their share of the Gorgon LNG.

CHEVRON has agreed to sell 1.2-1.5 mtpa over 25 years to Tokyo Gas, Chubu Electric and Osaka Gas and 0.5 mtpa to South Korea's GS Caltex.

Chevron still has about 3 mtpa of uncontracted Gorgon gas. It expects to arrange sales for the remainder in coming months.

SHELL will supply 1 mtpa to PetroChina and has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd in India for the possible sale of 0.5 mtpa of LNG. It plans to sell some Gorgon LNG into North America.

EXXON announced on Aug. 18 plans to sell PetroChina 2.25 mtpa over 20 years for a total value of $41 bln., while India's Petronet LNG has agreed to buy 1.5 mtpa a year for 20 years.

IMPACT:

Gorgon, which has seen years of delay amid environmental concerns and spiralling costs, would be the first LNG project to be approved since December 2008. It is expected to support 10,000 direct and indirect jobs at its peak and generate government revenue of A$40 billion over the first 30 years of the project.

With over a dozen other LNG projects planned in the Asia-Pacific, some experts warn the rush of new supply could ultimately force some operators to postpone their development. So companies are racing to secure customers to underpin these multi-billion-dollar investments. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; editing by Mark Bendeich)