Kentz wins $US570m Ichthys contract

Global engineering and construction group Kentz has been awarded a $US570 million contract for electrical and instrumentation works at the Inpex-operated Ichthys liquefied natural gas project.

Kentz will provide site-wide electrical and instrumentation installation for the two process trains and utilities at the project's onshore facilities in Darwin, as well as additional pre-commissioning and commissioning experience.

The contract, awarded by lead contractor JKC Australia, will run for 30 months from August this year and is expected to provide more than 1,200 jobs for construction personnel.

A joint venture between Kentz and engineering firm UGL earlier this year secured a $US640 million contract to perform structural, mechanical and piping works for the $US34 billion Ichthys project.

Kentz has previously been awarded contracts to deliver underground electrical and instrumentation works and a temporary telecommunications package at Ichthys.

Other contractors with major operations in Western Australia to have secured work on the massive Ichthys project in recent months include AusGroup, Monadelphous Group, Whittens, Fugro Spatial Solutions, Mermaid Marine Australia, and Programmed Maintenance Services.

"Kentz’s participation in the Ichthys LNG project demonstrates how our structure and approach to business is flexible and agile and is designed to successfully service customers' varying execution strategies," Kentz maanging director Australasia region Chris Warlow said.

"We are now providing an extensive range of services to JKC on this prestigious project; not only directly as Kentz through our EPC and construction business units, but also through alliance and joint venture with leading Australian engineers and constructors."

The Ichthys project will have an annual output of 8.4 million tonnes per annum from gas fields located in the Browse Basin off the north-west coast of WA.