Fluor Amec JV ready to fire up

CANADIAN engineering giant Hatch appears to have won the biggest share of major contracting work in Western Australia in a year that was dominated by oil and gas, resources and the Perth to Mandurah railway.

The value of the top 10 contracts for 2004 equals about $4.8 billion, however experts predict the amount of engineering work being undertaken in WA could grow to nearly $7 billion by the end of 2006.

That level of work is expected to put further pressure on the State’s already stretched skills base.

While Hatch is involved in about $1.9 billion worth of contracts let in 2004, it did not land the largest contract. That went to the Perth-based Fluor Amec joint venture, which won the topsides engineering and procurement work for the $1.48 billion Enfield oilfield development for Woodside.

The Enfield project involves the development of a floating production, storage and off-take (FPSO) vessel that Woodside will own. The project is about 40 kilometres north-west of WA’s North West Shelf.

The Technip Subsea 7 Enfield Joint Venture will do the offshore installation work and supply subsea flowlines and dynamic risers.

Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea has been contracted to build the 150,000-tonne Suezmax-type tanker that will act as the FPSO.

It is understood the hull build will cost about $US100 million and the 8,000t topside work will cost between $US80 million and $US90 million.

While Fluor-Amec is not respon-sible for the entire project, a Woodside spokesman said the company would have the bulk of the work.

Hatch shares, with local engineering firm GRD, in the next largest contract let in 2004 – the $1.4 billion Ravensthorpe Nickel development for BHP Billiton.

Hatch also has the contract for the $440 million Pinjarra refinery upgrade for Alcoa.

Leighton has also won some significant work in 2004.

It has a share in about $770 million worth of projects, largely due to its involvement with the WA Government’s $1.5 billion New Metro Rail project.

The RailLink joint venture, made up of Leighton subsidiary John Holland and Macmahon, Multiplex and O’Donnell Griffin, was awarded the $352 million contract for the Perth to Mandurah Railway, while the Leighton Kumagai consortium won the $324 million CBD section of the works.

That CBD section involves tunnelling under William Street.

Leighton also won the $100 million Albany Grain Terminal project for CBH.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry director industry policy Bill Sashegyi said while 2004 was a very busy year, there could be almost $7 billion worth of work under way in WA by 2006.

That includes the commencement of projects such as the $6 billion Gorgon gas development and possible starts on at least two of the $1 billion plus iron ore projects that have been proposed.

The Gorgon project received a boost last week with the announcement that the Mexican Government had granted key permits enabling project proponent Chevron Texaco to build a liquefied natural gas terminal about eight kilometres off Tijuana.

Another Woodside project, LNG Train 5, has also been given the green light.

Woodside has put in development applications for the fifth train, along with supporting fractionation, compressor and power generation facilities and a second LNG berth.

The entire project is expected to be worth about $2 billion.

Mr Sashegyi said the south of WA would also be the focus of greater development in 2005 than it had last year.

That would be due to works related to projects such as the Worsley Alumina upgrade the Ravensthorpe Nickel project, construction of a baseload power station, the development of Pinetec’s timber plant, and the $500 million expansion of the Boddington mine.

“By 2005 there will be about $1.8 billion in the south of the State and it stays around $1.6 billion for 2006,” Mr Sashegyi said.

He said that, in 2006, there could be about $5 billion worth of work in the north of the State to go with the $1.6 billion predicted for the south.