The contracts worth more than $7 million cover a range of preliminary engineering and concept design studies and data collection surveys to select optimum development model for an LNG facility on Barrow Island.

A regional focus has been maintained with two-thirds of the contracts being carried out by Western Australian-based companies.

Kellogg Brown and Root with its subsidiary, Granherne, has won a contract to select the technologies and define facilities.

Technip will work on managing the constructability issues - selecting the construction method and storage/marine concept.

Intec has won the conceptual upstream engineering work to support the concept selection e.g. subsea design and layout, pipeline specifications, flow assurance and hydrate migitation, safeguarding and pressure protection, and operability.

Fugro is doing the upstream and downstream geophysical field work on and around Barrow Island.

The Gorgon area gas fields contain certified reserves of 12 Tcf with the Greater Gorgon area containing an estimated gas resource of 40 Tcf.

The development of the Gorgon Gas reserves is subject to the Gorgon Venture receiving in-principle access to the restricted use of Barrow Island, an operating oil field and Class 'A' Nature Reserve.

The Western Australian government is currently conducting an Environmental, Social and Economic (ESE) assessment of the impacts of such a development on Barrow Island with a Cabinet decision expected in the third quarter of 2003.

If the Government approves the use of Barrow Island, development could be expected towards the beginning of 2004.

The Gorgon announcements follow ChevronTexaco's recent announcement to withdraw from Papua New Guinea and to focus on assets more closely aligned with strategic growth objectives.