WHILE the development of Train 4 on the Burrup Peninsula in WA’s North West is drawing on local operators, the project is also using suppliers from around the globe.
Last week the joint venture manager, Woodside Energy Ltd, awarded a $40 million contract for rock dumping to Dutch firm Van Oord ACZ Offshore BV.
And, by early December, the Dampier Port will be bringing in two 150 metre heat exchangers worth $20 million. They were manufactured in Germany over the past two years by Linde, based in Schalchen.
Linde is one of two companies worldwide that produces cryogenic heat exchangers for the LNG industry.
Looking like space rockets, the cryogenic heat exchangers are said to be the ‘heart’ of the gas liquefaction process and key to the $1.6 billion Train 4 Project as it increases the liquefied natural gas production capacity from 7.3 million tonnes a year to nearly 12 million tonnes.
Almost $600 million will be spent on sourcing overseas products and services.
To date Australian companies have won nearly $700 million in contracts, which is expected to rise to $1 billion by the end of the project.
Each exchanger is said to contain about 650 kilometres of wound aluminium tubing. The exchangers are used to cool the gas to minus 138° Celsius so that it liquefies, making it ready for transfer to LNG storage tanks.
The rock-dumping contract awarded to Dutch firm Van Oord ACZ Offshore BV will rely on Australian-based crews and involves moving and placing 450,000 cubic metres of locally quarried rock on the trunkline to stabilise it on the seabed. Work is expected to start in July 2003 and be completed within six months.
On board specialist vessels SSDV Jan Steen and FFPV Rocky Giant, the rock will be placed over the trunkline for the first 30 kilometres from shore, as well as around the concrete gravity anchors in the deep-water section.
