Shell says no need to rush Australia Gorgon LNG expansion | Reuters

Shell says no need to rush Australia Gorgon LNG expansion | Reuters:
FLOATING LNG TO SPEED UP TAX REVENUES

Floating LNG plants offer a lower-cost solution for developing Australian gas, Pickard added.

"The lower the capex, the faster you are into a tax-paying position," she said. "Floating is actually very good for the federal government in terms of getting the tax revenues out faster and quicker."

Shell is regarded as the frontrunner in developing floating LNG platforms and expects to bring online by 2017 the world's first floating LNG plant, Australia's Prelude LNG, which will generate A$12 billion in tax revenues.

Shell recently upped its stake in Woodside's Browse LNG development, a move that may signal the project will move forward as a floating LNG plant rather than a land-based plant, according to industry insiders and analysts.

Woodside now faces a mid-2013 deadline to decide if it will move forward with building an onshore LNG plant at James Price Point in northwestern Australia.

The James Price Point location has drawn criticism from groups who say it will cause damage to Aboriginal sites and to the environment, and some industry analysts say building an onshore plant may be uneconomic.