Woodside awards Scarborough contracts

Woodside Petroleum has awarded four contracts, which it is funding without a contribution from venture partner BHP Group, for front-end engineering design activities at its proposed $15 billion Scarborough project.

The contracts relate to the upstream development’s floating production unit, the export trunkline, and the subsea umbilical risers and flowlines.

All of the agreements include an option to progress to execute phase activities, subject to a final go-ahead being given by Woodside and its project partner, BHP Group, which owns a quarter of the Scarborough field.

BHP will not fund the contracts in any capacity, fuelling speculation that the company may sell its stake in the project.

McDermott Australia, the local subsidiary of US-based contractor McDermott International, secured work to undertake engineering studies for the floating production unit, while Saipem Australia and Intecsea will provide export trunkline engineering.

Subsea Integration Alliance, a consortium between OneSubsea Australia and Subsea 7 Australia Contracting, has been awarded a contract to undertake engineering studies for the subsea umbilical risers and flowlines.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said the awarding of these contracts would support the company’s targeted final investment decision for the project next year.

“We have made good progress since announcing last year that we had increased our stake in Scarborough,” he said.

“The award of these contracts brings us closer to unlocking the Scarborough resource.

“We want to continue to maintain the momentum that has been generated during 2018 towards a targeted final investment decision in 2020.”

The project’s contingent gas estimate is 7.3 trillion cubic feet, across the Scarborough, Thebe and Jupiter fields.

Woodside said their preferred concept for development is through new offshore facilities connected by an approximately 430 km export pipeline to the Burrup Peninsula, with onshore processing at the expanded Pluto LNG facility.

Project completion is expected by 2023.