Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Feb. 24 -- Thai state company PTTEP Australasia has awarded engineering and construction firm Clough Australia, Perth, a $116 million (Aus.) contract for the installation of the Montara oil facilities in the Timor Sea.
Clough will transport and install the 750-tonne Montara wellhead platform deck and the 285-tonne mooring buoy with nine associated mooring legs, about 26 km of infield pipelines, and the 100-tonne Swift field subsea manifold.
The Montara project includes development of the main Montara field along with the outlying Swift and Skua fields all lying about 690 km west of Darwin in the Ashmore-Cartier region of the Timor Sea. They lie in 80 m of water in the AC/L7 and AC/L8 production licenses.
Clough will use its upgraded Java Constructor vessel for the assignment. Work is scheduled to begin towards the end of June, and the vessel will be employed for about 4 months, Clough said.
PTTEP expects the Montara to start producing crude and gas in the fourth quarter.
PTTEP bought the previous 100% owner of Montara fields—private company Coogee Resources Ltd.—in late 2008 for $170 million [$248.4 million (Aus.)]. (OGJ Online, Dec. 30, 2008).
