Woodside lets contracts for Browse LNG project

July 6, 2015
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has let more contracts for the Browse floating LNG project offshore Western Australia. The contracts, awarded to a Technip-Samsung consortium, come close at the heels of the FLNG venture entering front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has let more contracts for the Browse floating LNG project offshore Western Australia. The contracts, awarded to a Technip-Samsung consortium, come close at the heels of the FLNG venture entering front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase (OGJ Online, July 1, 2015).

The first contract is for a study of the overall project conditions that will take into account the composition of the gas, weather considerations, and factors specific to the three fields making up the project: Torosa, Brecknock, and Calliance.

The second contract covers the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of three FLNG units to be deployed and assumes the Browse JV will go ahead with the multibillion dollar project despite the fact that this is by no means certain.

A final investment decision has been slated for second-half 2016.

The Browse project will draw on experience and insights from Royal Dutch Shell PLC and the Technip-Samsung group’s work on the design and construction of the Prelude FLNG facility that is also destined for the Browse basin. It is likely the three Browse FLNG vessels will closely resemble the Prelude facility.

The award of the two contracts for Browse comes a day after Shell placed a $4.7-billion order with Samsung Heavy Industries for three FLNG vessels for delivery in November 2023 raising speculation that Shell will use at least some, if not all, of these vessels at Browse.

The Browse JV comprises Woodside, Shell, BP, Mitsubishi/Mitsui, and PetroChina.