* KOGAS to import 1.5 mln t/yr LNG from Gorgon for 15 yrs
(Adds details)
SEOUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - South Korea's state-owned KOGAS said on Tuesday it had agreed with Chevron Corp to import 1.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for the next 15 years from the Gorgon LNG project in Australia.
The contract was the first long-term import deal from Australia by South Korea, the world's No.2 LNG buyer after Japan.
KOGAS, the world's biggest corporate buyer of LNG and South Korea's sole wholesaler, said in a news release that the contract could be extended another five years, and the two firms were also discussing the gas import and stake sales from Wheatstone LNG Project in Australia.
"As part of this agreement, KOGAS and Chevron plan to proceed discussion on additional LNG imports and stake sales from the Wheatstone Project," the KOGAS statement said.
Chevron and its partners ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, each holding a 25 percent stake in the project, on Monday gave a formal green light to building the Gorgon LNG project, the world's biggest new development, at a lower than estimated cost of $37 billion.
Monday's investment decision is the starting gun on a project that will generate huge revenues for contractors and deliver some 8 percent of the world's LNG when it begins production in 2014.
Chevron said in July its Gorgon and Wheatstone projects will position it to capture Asia's rapidly growing gas demand, which it expects to double between now and 2030.
The firm said it planned to ship first gas from Wheatstone, located offshore Western Australia state, in 2016 and is targeting a final investment decision on the project in 2011. (Reporting by Cho Meeyoung; Editing by Peter Blackburn)