Progress towards a final investment decision for the $20 billion Wheatstone project is gathering pace with operator Chevron today awarding the offshore component of a key contract to Technip Oceania and WorleyParsons subsidiary, Intecsea.
Progress towards a final investment decision for the $20 billion Wheatstone project is gathering pace with operator Chevron today awarding the offshore component of a key contract to Technip Oceania and WorleyParsons subsidiary, Intecsea.
The contract winners were awarded the front end engineering and design work for the upstream, or offshore, portion of the project.
Intecsea, described as a global company within the WorleyParsons and employs 800 people worldwide, will design the subsea gas gathering facilities and pipeline while Technip will design the production platform.
Chevron Australia managing director Roy Krzywosinski said Technip and Intecsea will work together with Bechtel, which in July was awarded the downstream FEED contract.
"The front end engineering and design process is now well underway with the upstream and downstream engineers working on an integrated basis to ensure we have a well coordinated development leading up to a final investment decision in 2011," he said.
The upstream scope includes subsea gas gathering for the Wheatstone and Iago fields, and offshore production platform and a 200 kilometre pipeline linking the platform to the gas plant at Ashburton North, 12km west of Onslow.
The Wheatstone project is now a joint venture with Apache Corporation and Kufpec after agreeing to project equity deals totaling to 25 per cent.
Apache and Kufpec were previously in talks with Woodside Petroleum over the possibility of supplying natural gas from their jointly-owned Julimar and Brunello fields for the Pluto expansion project.
Chevron's announcement is below:
The front end engineering and design phase (FEED) for the Wheatstone gas project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is now moving forward with the awarding of the upstream contracts.
The FEED contracts for the upstream (offshore) portion of the project were awarded to two companies. Intecsea Pty Ltd will design the subsea gas gathering facilities and pipeline and Technip Oceania Pty Ltd will design the production platform.
The upstream scope includes subsea gas gathering for the Wheatstone and Iago fields, an offshore production platform and a 200km pipeline linking the platform to the downstream gas plant located at Ashburton North, 12 kilometres west of Onslow.
Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production President Jim Blackwell said, "The awarding of the contracts is another step towards finalising the scope of the Wheatstone Project, which recently welcomed Apache and KUFPEC as 25 percent equity participants in the foundation project facilities."
"The front end engineering and design process is now well underway with the upstream and downstream engineers working on an integrated basis to ensure we have a well coordinated development leading up to a final investment decision in 2011," said Roy Krzywosinski, managing director of Chevron Australia.
The downstream (onshore) FEED contract for the Wheatstone LNG and domestic gas plant and export facilities at Ashburton North was awarded to Bechtel Oil Gas and Chemicals Inc in July.