Woodside’s $12.5 billion giant gas project coming along nicely with over two-thirds of work done

While project costs have risen, Australia’s energy giant Woodside has made strides in bringing to life its huge gas project off the coast of Western Australia, thus, the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) is still on track to be achieved in 2026.Scarborough gas project in the Carnarvon Basin, which targets the first LNG cargo in 2026, was 67% complete at the end of the second quarter of 2024.

This development entails new offshore facilities connected by an approximately 430 km pipeline to a second LNG train at the existing Pluto LNG onshore facility.

As a result, the project encompasses the installation of a floating production unit (FPU) with eight wells drilled in the initial phase and thirteen wells drilled over the life of the gas field. All wells will be tied back to a semi-submersible FPU moored in 950 meters of water close to the Scarborough field.

While the schedule remains unchanged, following a review, the total project cost estimate has increased to $12.5 billion, representing $8.2 billion Woodside share, for the integrated Scarborough energy project. This is a 4% jump from the previous cost estimate of $12 billion when a final investment decision (FID) was disclosed in November 2021.

Woodside pinpoints the scope maturation of the Pluto Train 1 modifications project as the main culprit for the cost hike. Out of 51 modules required for the Scarborough project’s Pluto Train 2, 29 have been delivered to the site, with 25 modules set in position at the end of the quarter.

Source: offshore-energy.biz