Barnett advocates limited use of Barrow Island environmental reserve for the processing of greenhouse gases but wants the main LNG plant to be built on the mainland - an idea that Chevron Texaco said would add more than a billion dollars to the project cost.

However, Barnett said that the move onshore would spark increased gas use by associated projects, which will promote increased investment in the state outweighing any escalation in costs involved in moving the project onshore.

The comments will add fuel to speculation that little if any of the gas from the project will make it into the local market.

Currently under the State Agreement, which details the commitments of the $11 billion venture, the partners will be barred from expanding the Barrow Island gas project unless a pipeline is built to bring gas to the mainland for the domestic market. The partners have already targeted a two train project producing 10 million tones of LNG per year.

However, the State Agreement introduced into state Parliament says the delivery of domestic gas will be subject to a commercial viability test.

If an independent expert concludes domestic demand does not warrant the construction of an onshore pipeline from Barrow Island, the Gorgon joint venture partners, ChevronTexaco, Shell and ExxonMobil, could move ahead with the construction of the second LNG train without supplying gas to the WA market