Methane Leak Detection of 7.8 Tonnes an Hour Prompts Australia to Investigate Gorgon Project
Key Facts
The Western Australian government confirmed it had opened an investigation into repeated methane emissions from Chevron’s Gorgon project after the latest detection measured 7.8 tonnes of methane an hour near the acid gas removal units. Data from the Tanager-1 satellite showed plumes above the facility on five consecutive passes since November 2025, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. The state’s Department of Water and Environmental Regulation said it was working to determine the cause of the emissions and was in contact with Chevron to identify an appropriate response. The regulator has not yet said whether it will require compliance measures or additional regulation. The state government said “it is not appropriate to speculate while the investigation is ongoing.”
The latest detection, at a rate of 7.8 tonnes an hour, occurred in late August 2026 near the acid gas removal units at the Gorgon facility on Barrow Island. According to ABC, the satellite captured large plumes on each of its five consecutive passes since November 2025. The sequence of detections shows that alerts have spanned several months, while investigators focus on determining the cause of the emissions. Satellite detection alone does not establish their cause or whether emissions have continued at the same rate. The department says it is working with Chevron to determine the appropriate response, without yet disclosing the outcome of the investigation.
Chevron said it was in contact with the United Nations Environment Programme about the data, but did not comment on the state government’s investigation. ABC reported that the company had not formally responded to the U.N. alerts. The United Nations warned Chevron about emissions from the project in July 2025, then issued a more recent warning in August 2026. The U.N. alerts provide background to the current investigation, without establishing the cause of the emissions. The relevant authorities have also yet to announce whether they will take a specific regulatory action.
The state government oversees the project’s emissions, a federal official told the Senate. The official said “my understanding is that this matter falls under the state regulator’s jurisdiction.” This places the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in charge of determining whether a regulatory response is required. The department has not yet specified what measures it might require of Chevron, saying it is working with the company to determine the appropriate response. Speculating on the outcome of the investigation would be premature, according to the state government’s stated position.
Gorgon is one of Australia’s largest liquefied natural gas plants, with annual capacity of 15.6 million tonnes across three processing trains on Barrow Island. All of the plant’s output is shipped overseas, placing the emissions issue at a facility with extensive export activity. The methane investigation runs alongside a separate record concerning the carbon dioxide injection project linked to gas processing at Gorgon. The Western Australian government said the project aims to inject 3.3 to 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, and that injection began in August 2019. This operational context does not establish the cause of the methane emissions under state investigation.
An official response submitted to the Western Australian parliament in August 2026 said the carbon dioxide injection project had not met the requirement to inject 80% of the carbon dioxide extracted from the reservoir since operations began, measured on a five-year rolling average. At a parliamentary session on 2 December 2025, a member said a five-year environmental performance report showed that only 25% of the carbon dioxide had been captured in the previous financial year. The minister replied that the company was required to make up for carbon dioxide that had not been injected. These figures relate to the carbon capture project and are separate from the methane plume detections and ongoing investigation. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and ABC said it is responsible for about 25% of global warming.
Chevron shares closed at $228.23 on 27 October 2026, compared with a close of $232.01 in the previous session, according to EL7 data. The EL7 data provided did not include closing prices for the company’s competitors, so no comparison with other companies’ shares is included here. On Australia’s economic calendar, the September 2026 producer price index is due on 30 October at 11:30 a.m. AEDT. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy board meets on 2 and 3 November, with its decision statement due on 3 November at 2:30 p.m. AEDT. These dates provide separate economic context, and sources do not link them to the investigation or Gorgon’s operations.