State Development Minister Clive Brown welcomed the decision, saying it was an exciting time for the gas processing industry, with Liquigaz's approval coming hot on the heels of news that Burrup Fertilisers would become the first company to start work on the Burrup Industrial Estate, having secured project finance last week.

The Liquigaz methanol project will take 30 months to construct and create up to 500 new construction and 60 permanent locally-based jobs. Once operational, the plant will produce one million tonnes of methanol each year for export over a life of more than 25 years.

"The Liquigaz methanol project will prove a significant gas processing development for the State, positioning WA as an innovator in the conversion of natural gas to methanol for commercial application," Mr Brown said.

Methanol is a widely used industrial chemical and one of a number of greenhouse friendly clean fuels that can be substituted for petrol or diesel fuel in passenger cars, light trucks and heavy-duty trucks and buses. It is also used in a number of consumer products such as paint strippers, duplicator fluid and windscreen washer fluids.

Regarded as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fuels, methanol uses sophisticated technology that would provide new value-adding opportunities for Western Australia's natural gas feedstock, the Minister said.

Liquigaz is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GTL Resources PLC, a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Other companies continuing their progress through the major project approvals processes, include Dampier Nitrogen, which received environmental approval for its $900 million ammonia-urea plant earlier this month, and Methanex, which is hoping final environmental approval to be granted to its methanol project shortly.