Chevron's $29 billion Wheatstone LNG project faces the threat of being delayed by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) chairman Andrew Forrest's fight against miners accessing his ancestral land in the Pilbara, according to The Australian.
The link between the two comes in the form of Onslow Resources, which is a small company seeking to excavate sand from the Ashburton River to supply concrete sands to Boral for the Wheatstone project.
Mr Forrest has fought Onslow's plans, prompting Onslow director Warren Slater to say Mr Forrest's campaign could prove to be a “disaster” for the Wheatstone project.
The land in question had been owned by Mr Forrest's family for 120 years until his father was forced to sell it in 1998. However, Mr Forrest bought it back in 2009 for $12 million and has invested millions more restoring the property.
Since repurchasing the property, Mr Forrest objected to applications for mining on at least seven other tenements related to his 280,000 hectare station, according to The Australian.