Wood, KBR win Crux contract

Engineering firms Wood and KBR have secured a multi-million dollar contract for the Crux gas project, confirming Shell's desire to accelerate development of the gas field located 160km off the Kimberley coast.

Wood and KBR will deliver front-end engineering design (FEED) to build a ‘not normally manned’ platform and a 160km gas pipeline linking Crux to Shell’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility.

The Crux facilities have been identified as an important source of backfill gas supply to Prelude, which Shell is in the process of commissioning.

The FEED services will be delivered over 18 months by Wood and KBR’s engineering and project management teams in Perth, supported by Wood’s Kuala Lumpur resource base.

The engineering contract, announced by Wood and KBR on Tuesday evening, comes days after Shell advertised the start of its environmental review process for Crux.

In newspaper advertisements, Shell said it had submitted a project proposal to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority. This is the first stage of environmental approval required for Crux.  

The proposed Crux platform will contain minimal processing facilities and utility systems and will be operated remotely from Prelude.

Wood chief executive Robin Watson said: “This contract win to deliver the next generation of offshore facilities for Shell Australia demonstrates our unrivalled subsea pipeline expertise and offshore engineering capabilities”.

“Wood has extensive experience in delivering technically complex subsea engineering projects in Western Australia,” Mr Watson added.

“We are committed to expanding our portfolio in the region, developing local content by investing in industry talent, resources and supply chain.

“Working alongside each other for more than 20 years, Wood and KBR provide a powerful combination, leveraging the experience of two tier one contractors.”

KBR president and chief executive Stuart Bradie said the contract would continue the firm’s long relationship with Shell and Perth.

This win builds on KBR’s long offshore experience in Australia and reinforces our extensive global leadership position in unmanned offshore facilities,” Mr Bradie said.

The Shell-operated Crux project is jointly owned by Shell, ASX-listed Seven Group Holdings and Osaka Gas.