The North West Shelf venture participants have agreed to proceed with phase 1 of the Greater Western Flank project, which is designed to sustain gas supply to the existing Karratha gas plant.
Project operator and part-owner Woodside said the $2.5 billion project represented the next major development for the North West Shelf venture.
The phase 1 project will develop the Goodwyn GH and Tidepole fields via a subsea tie-back to the Goodwyn A platform, with production expected to begin in early 2016.
Woodside CEO and managing director Peter Coleman said the project would maintain offshore supply to the Karratha Gas Plant and support the North West Shelf Project’s ongoing marketing efforts for domestic gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“This Project will continue to maximise the value of existing infrastructure and demonstrates ongoing investment in Australia’s largest resource project,” he said.
The phase one participants are Woodside, BHP Billiton, BP, Chevron, Japan Australia LNG and Shell.
The Greater Western Flank is the second major 'brownfields' development by the North West Shelf venture, and follows the North Rankin Redevelopment, which involves construction of a second platform at the North Rankin field.
The go-ahead occurs at a time when Woodside is continuing to work on several expansion opportunities, including its Pluto train-2, Browse and Neptune developments.
