ConocoPhillips awards three contracts for Australian offshore gas project

Modec

17/06/2018 04:39

By Alison Bevege
    SYDNEY, June 17 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips has awarded three
engineering contracts for the design of the major Barossa gas
project intended to supply its Darwin LNG export plant for more
than 20 years, the firm said on Sunday.
    Barossa is an offshore gas and light condensate project in
Australian territorial waters in the Timor Sea, 300 km (186
miles) north of the northern city of Darwin. 
    It is expected to produce about 3.7 million tonnes per year
of liquefied natural gas and 1.5 million barrels per year of
condensate once it begins production, Australia's offshore
petroleum regulator has said.
    ConocoPhillips will make a final investment decision on the
project at the end of next year.
    "We look forward to working together with our selected
front-end engineering design contractors to develop sufficient
certainty of cost, schedule and execution planning," Chris
Wilson, president of ConocoPhillips Australia West, said in a
statement.
    The company did not reveal the value of the contracts, on
gounds of confidentiality.
    The Darwin LNG plant, majority-owned and operated by
ConocoPhillips  CONPH.UL  sells all its gas to Japan through
Tokyo Gas and JERA, a joint venture between Japanese firms Tokyo
Electric 9501.T   and Chibu Electric, it says on its website.  
    Barossa is the first stage of the Barossa-Caldita proposal
accepted by the regulator, National Offshore Petroleum Safety
and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), in March, and
would involve a floating ship producing from six wells. 
    Japan's Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Company 
 6269.T , which supplies offshore floating platforms, has been
awarded a contract to help design the floating, production,
storage and offloading ship.
    A consortium of Britain-headquartered engineering giant
TechnipFMC  FTI.N  and Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy
Industries  010140.KS  also won a design contract for the same
vessel.
    ConocoPhillips will pick a design after the final investment
decision.
    INTECSEA, a subsidiary of Australian firm WorleyParsons
 WOR.AX  has been awarded the third contract to design subsea
infrastructure and a new 260-km to 290-km (160-mile to 180-mile)
pipeline to carry gas to ConocoPhillips' existing pipeline.
    ConocoPhillips owns 37.5 percent of the Barossa joint
venture and is the operator. The other owners are SK E&S
Australia, part of Korean conglomerate SK Group, which has 37.5
percent, and Santos which holds 25 percent.
    ConocoPhillips is also the majority owner and operator of
the Bayu-Undan-Darwin subsea pipeline and the Darwin LNG plant.
Other coventurers are Santos  STO.AX , INPEX  1605.T , Eni
 ENI.MI , Tokyo Gas  9531.T , and JERA.

 (Reporting by Alison Bevege; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
 ((Alison.Bevege@thomsonreuters.com;))