Australian Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson on Tuesday officially commenced the Gorgon natural gas project on Barrow Island, off Western Australia's Pilbara coast.
Construction work is already underway on the island for the planned building of three liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing trains, a domestic
gas plant, an LNG loading facility and a carbon injection plant.
Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production president Jim Blackwell said the ceremony formally recognized the start of construction of Chevron's and Australia's largest single resources project.
"The greater Gorgon area is estimated to have 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources and is well positioned to meet the growing demand for
natural gas in the Asia Pacific region," Blackwell said.
Ferguson said the project was a significant one globally, as it would increase the security of the world energy sector.
"It would help Australia climb the ladder from its position as the fifth largest exporter of LNG in the world," he said.
The minister noted there was an onus on Australia to leave a legacy including a skills base for the future and indigenous employment and
training opportunities.
It will take about five years to complete the 43-billion- Australian-dollar (39 billion U.S. dollars) project, and more than 3,000 construction workers are expected to live on the 30,000- hectare island ahead of the first gas shipment scheduled for 2014.