Global energy giant Chevron Corp., announced on Wednesday construction works at its $29-billion Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Western Australia is well underway, with more than half of the gas already committed to Japanese companies.

Brian Smith, Chevron Australia general manager of the Wheatstone project, told a function in Perth that it is now in the process of looking for more interested buyers of the environment-friendly chilled LNG, holding discussions with several firms. He did not elaborate details.

"At the moment we are over 60 per cent of the gas sold and we are certainly looking to get over 80 per cent," Smith said. The rest, he pointed out, could be reserved for domestic gas markets.

Wheatstone LNG project's biggest customer is Tokyo Electric Power, which has entered binding agreements to purchase 3.1 million tonnes of LNG per annum.

Chevron Corp., which controls 73 per cent, is now in the early stages of construction of the Wheatstone LNG project six months after reaching the final investment decision in September 2011.

The Wheatstone LNG project is also owned by Apache at 13 per cent, KUFPEC at 7 per cent and Shell at 6.4 per cent.

Wheatstone's first gas, expected in 2016, will create about $20 billion in tax over the life of the project.

Meanwhile, another LNG project, Woodside Petroleum's Pluto LNG project, has reached ready-for-start-up (RFSU) status.

In a statement, Woodside said the Pluto LNG project had its first gas flow last week. It is late, however, in its first LNG cargo delivery based on Woodside's schedule.

Expected to go online anytime this year, the Pluto LNG project will produce some 1.8 million and 2.2 million metric tonnes of the chilled gas per annum.