Yesterday he told reporters at the APPEA conference in Melbourne that the project had fallen a "bit lower" on the list of opportunities.

"We're probably not moving quite as quickly as we were last year, but it's still a very important asset," he said.

The joint venture was coy on the progress of the project throughout last year and well before the rout in global crude prices.

Front-end engineering and design work was once expected to start up in 2013, with a final investment decision flagged for either 2014 or early 2015.