Conoco Plans Darwin Pipeline

ConocoPhillips could run a new gas pipeline all the way to its processing facility at Darwin from the Browse Basin offshore from Western Australia.

The US giant has also said that it is interested in adding another liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing train to its Wickham Point facility in Darwin, its Australian business unit president Todd Creeger said on Wednesday, Herald Sun reported.Darwin plant at Wickham Point was authorised for 10 million tonnes per year of LNG.

``We have obviously got room for another train, both from a layout footprint standpoint and permits,'' Creeger told reporters.

He said a single gas field had so far not been found that could underpin the building of a second train to the facility but that the Browse Basin could alter this, the newspaper reported.

``Potentially the Browse Basin drilling that I talked about earlier that is going on now could underpin a second train, and we will know within a few months whether that is going to be successful,'' Mr Creeger said.

The newspaper also quoted him as saying that ConocoPhillips was in talks with several parties interested in buying a stake in its Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) joint-venture project in Queensland.

Both ConocoPhillips and Origin Energy, which each hold a 37.5 per cent stake in the $20 billion ($A19.22 billion) project, say they each want to offload 7.5 per cent of their equity in the project.