 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Australia to give gas project green light 'within week'
Sydney (AFP) Aug 21, 2009 Australia will decide "in the next week" whether to grant environmental approval to a project that will supply natural gas to China under Canberra's biggest ever trade deal, a minister said Friday. Beijing's PetroChina and ExxonMobil earlier this week sealed a record-breaking deal to supply China with 41 billion US dollars of natural gas from the project over the next two decades. But the scheme needs approval first and Environment Minister Peter Garrett would soon decide on whether to green light the still-undeveloped Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant off Western Australia. "I expect to make a decision in the next week, but again I will take the time to go through all of the material in front of me very carefully," he told reporters. Garrett, who has until September 8 to give his decision on the environmental impact of the scheme, said he was considering advice from officials on endangered species potentially affected by the building of undersea pipelines. PetroChina's investment represents around one-sixth of the total supply contracts signed for Gorgon, and is expected to create up to 6,000 jobs and pump billions of dollars into Australia's economy. But Garrett said he did not feel pressured politically to sign off on the deal, which senior ministers touted as proof the China-Australia relationship had weathered a series of recent tensions. "I am under no pressure whatsoever in relation to this project other than to do my job as a regulator properly," Garrett said. Rows between Beijing and Canberra over the detention of Rio Tinto mining executive Stern Hu in Shanghai and a visit to Australia by Uighur dissident Rebiya Kadeer have brought their relationship to its lowest point in years. But Australia's foreign affairs department said Friday that stalled free trade negotiations between the key trading partners, who last year enjoyed a 58 billion US dollar relationship, were due to resume next month. "The next meeting of officials is expected next month," a spokeswoman told AFP. Australia and China agreed in April 2005 to launch negotiations, but talks have been stalled since December over disagreements on agriculture, services and investment. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Exxon Mobil evacuates offshore rig in Hurricane Bill's pathOttawa (AFP) Aug 21, 2009 Exxon Mobil is evacuating all 200 workers from its Sable gas platform off the Canadian east coast, ahead of Hurricane Bill's expected arrival on the weekend, a spokeswoman said Friday. "We're closely monitoring the progress of Hurricane Bill. Based on the current predictions of its severity and with the safety of our workforce as a priority Exxon Mobil has decided to evacuate all personnel ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook