Chevron is planning to step up its investment in the huge Gorgon liquefied natural gas project off the coast of western Australia. The US’s second biggest oil and gas company is seeking approval from the Australian authorities to build an additional liquefaction plant, the company has told the Financial Times.

It has endorsed a change in project scope from two plants – with capacity of 5m metric tonnes per annum – to three in an effort to improve project economics amid mounting industry cost pressures.