Bechtel Lands Pluto Expansion Contract

Australia’s Woodside has awarded the contract for the proposed 4- to 5mn mt/yr expansion of its Pluto LNG facility in Western Australia to US engineering company Bechtel, it said October 9.

Woodside said it will continue to work closely with Bechtel in preparation for award of the contract for the front-end engineering and design (Feed) phase. Woodside and Bechtel will continue to refine the concept and costs. The Feed contract award will also include the option for the full execute phase contract, subject to a positive final investment decision, Woodside said.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said expanding the Pluto LNG facility is key to realising the company’s vision for the Burrup Hub. “Expanding Pluto LNG will provide the necessary infrastructure to commercialise Western Australian gas resources for years to come. We look forward to progressing Train 2 concept definition work and continuing to build our relationship with Bechtel,” he said.

Woodside is proposing a brownfield expansion of the Pluto LNG facility, including construction of a second LNG train with a targeted capacity of 4–5mn mt/yr, to facilitate development of the 7.3 trillion ft³ Scarborough gas resource. Woodside said in March 2018 it plans to develop the Scarborough gasfield, which it now operates, through its Pluto LNG onshore facility. 

Woodside is targeting Feed entry in 1Q2019 and a final investment decision in 2020, with Train 2 targeted to be ready for start-up in 2024.