Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Nov. 26 -- Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has awarded service contracts totalling $5.2 million (Aus.) to Finnish consulting and engineering firm Poyry for the Pluto LNG project off Western Australia.
The awards cover the concept phase of different development options for the proposed second LNG train for Pluto.
Poyry said the long tie-back from the offshore field to the plant on the Burrup Peninsula means that flow assurance studies for Pluto are vital to ensure there is an acceptable fluid flow under all operating conditions.
The studies in the contract include an evaluation of the thermal and hydraulic performance of the Pluto production system from the undersea reservoir through 27 km of subsea flowlines to the production platform and then along 180 km of subsea trunkline to the onshore Burrup plant.
A significant portion of the work involves hydrate management utilising state-of-the-art technologies to address the various steady state and transient operational scenarios.
The work also involves the development of operational philosophies and manuals and support for the commissioning and start-up activities.
All the contract services will be supplied from Poyry's Perth office in Western Australia.
Pluto gas is scheduled to come on stream to supply Train 1 of the project in late 2010.