Australia's largest independent oil and gas company Woodside said it has awarded a contract to Bechtel (Western Australia) Pty Ltd to undertake front-end engineering design (FEED) for its proposed brownfield expansion of existing Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
The FEED work includes activities required to finalize the costs and technical definition for the proposed second LNG train at the Pluto LNG onshore facility in Western Australia.
Woodside said the awarded contract also includes an option to progress to a lump sum engineering, procurement and construction contract for execute phase activities. This option is subject to, among other conditions, a positive final investment decision (FID) being taken on the project.
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the decision to enter FEED for the Pluto Train 2 Project is a significant step toward progressing the Burrup Hub – a regional LNG production center in northern Western Australia.
“Our Burrup Hub vision is taking shape as we work with Bechtel to progress the Pluto Train 2 Project, which will create a pathway for the globally cost-competitive development of Western Australian gas resources,” he said.
The second Pluto train is Woodside’s preferred concept for the development of the 7.3 Tcf offshore Scarborough gas resource. The project will include a second LNG train at the Pluto site with a targeted capacity of 5 Mtpa and installation of domestic gas infrastructure.
Woodside said it is targeting FID for the Pluto Train 2 Project in 2020 and ready for start-up in 2024.