Australian LNG producer Woodside has awarded a project management contract to US engineer KBR to undertake modifications of the first train at the Pluto LNG plant near Karratha, Western Australia.
KBR said in a statement on Monday it won the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) contract from Woodside, as operator for and on behalf of the Pluto joint venture.
The modifications will enable the processing of up to three million tonnes per year of Scarborough gas through Train 1, it said.
KBR did not provide the price tag of the deal.
“KBR is pleased to support Woodside in the modification of the Pluto Train 1 LNG facility to enable processing of Scarborough gas, and in turn provide opportunity to extend the life of the plant,” Jay Ibrahim, KBR’s president for sustainable technology solutions said in the statement.
In November 2021, Woodside took a final investment decision on the Scarborough and Pluto LNG Train 2 developments worth about $12 billion and expects to ship the first cargo in 2026.
The projects also include new domestic gas facilities and modifications to the first train.
Woodside’s Pluto LNG terminal currently has one train with a capacity of 4.9 mtpa and Woodside and US engineer Bechtel started building the second Pluto train last year.
Pluto Train 2 will get gas from the Scarborough gas field, located about 375 km off the coast of Western Australia, through a new trunkline long about 430 km.
Woodside recently said it expects to receive the first module from Indonesia at the Pluto Train 2 project site in Western Australia in the first quarter of 2024.
Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine, now Seatrium, joined forces with Bechtel in 2021 to build these modules.
