AUSSIE LNG OPERATIONS ADVANCE; NIGERIAN PROPOSAL HITS A SNAG

Two big liquefied natural gas projects reported progress and disappointment as 1993 got under way.

Australia's massive Northwest Shelf LNG operations marked headway late last year.

However, Nigeria's Bonny Island project was threatened by failure of Nigeria LNG Ltd., Lagos, to raise $2 billion in foreign investment before the deadline to award the main contract.

Partners in Northwest Shelf operations started up a third train at their liquefaction plant on the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia and took delivery of a sixth LNG tanker.

Feasibility studies for development of Cossack and Wanaea oil fields off western Australia are finished, and the projects are proceeding to the planning phase.

NORTHWEST SHELF

Start-up of the third LNG train on the Burrup Peninsula marked completion of the current phase of onshore LNG operations.

It boosted the plant's nominal production capacity by 2 million metric tons/year to 6 million tons/year. But with enhanced performance from the earlier trains, project partners expect production to hit 7 million tons/year in 1995.

Completion of the unit follows 3 years of construction, with a peak on site work force of 1,400.

Other recently completed onshore facilities aimed at handling increased production from offshore Goodwyn field include two 90,000 cu m condensate storage tanks, added condensate stabilization facilities, a sixth power generator, and a sphere to hold liquefied petroleum gas.

The $2 billion (Australian) project to develop Goodwyn got under way late last year with installation of a steel jacket for platform A (OGJ, Nov. 16, 1992, p. 33). However, because of problems with installation of insert piles, field operator Woodside Petroleum Pty. Ltd. expects a "significant delay" in hookup and commissioning that was due to start early next month.

Northwest Shelf partners, headed by Woodside, reached an agreement for sale of the added 1 million tons/ year of LNG to Japanese customers.

An eighth LNG tanker, Northwest Stormpetrel, has been ordered to carry the added shipments. Construction, to start in second quarter this year, is to be complete by yearend 1994.

Northwest Shelf partners took delivery Nov. 30 of the sixth LNG tanker, Northwest Seaeagle. It has joined its sister ships on the Australia-Japan

LNG TRADE ROUTE.

The vessel was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The fleet's seventh tanker, Northwest Sandpiper, is near completion and is scheduled for February delivery.

Woodside's partners in the Northwest Shelf LNG project are BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd., British Petroleum Co. plc, Chevron Corp., Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Corp., and Royal Dutch/ Shell Group.

FIELD DEVELOPMENT

Development of Cossack and Wanaea oil fields off western Australia is in the planning phase, expected to take about 6 months, which includes preliminary engineering and detailed budget estimates.

Wanaea is the largest of recent Northwest Shelf oil discoveries, with reserves estimated at 165 million bbl, while Cossack reserves recently have been downgraded to about 30 million bbl from 60 million bbl (OGJ, Aug. 17, 1992, p. 29).

Preliminary plans call for developing Wanaea using a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) system. Cossack oil is to move to the FPSO via subsea flow lines.

Headed by Woodside, field partners said if the project were approved in mid-1993, production would begin in 1995. Peak production of about 70,000 b/d is expected from the two fields. Total development cost of the Wanaea and Cossack projects could be more than $1 billion.

Woodside operates both fields on behalf of BHP, BP Developments Australia, Chevron Asiatic, Shell Development (Australia), and Japan Australia.

Concurrent to planning development for the two fields, there will be a study of the viability of an LPG export scheme based on LPG from Wanaea, Cossack, North Rankin, and Goodwyn fields.

The project would include construction of an onshore LPG chilling plant, two 50,000 cu m LPG storage tanks, and a new loading jetty.

LPG from Cossack, Wanaea, North Rankin, and Goodwyn could total about 350,000 tons/year.

NIGERIAN PROJECTS

Construction bids for the $4.3 billion Nigerian LNG export plant are likely to be increased after the Dec. 22 deadline was missed, Reuters news agency reported. Two international groups were reported to be bidding for the work. A project operator told Reuters it would take "a minor miracle" to keep it going. "I believe the government might want to stop it-at least for now."

Partners in Nigeria LNG Ltd. are Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. 60%, Shell Gas BY 20% and Ste. Nationale Elf Aquitaine and Agip SpA 10% each.

The latest schedule for the Bonny Island terminal involved a 1997 start-up. The project proposal began taking shape in the 1970s, with the aim of exporting as much as 6 million metric tons/year of LNG to Europe by the late 1980s.

Gas was to be supplied from Soku and Bomu fields through a 200 km pipeline to the terminal.

Sales contracts for almost 4.1 million metric tons/year of LNG for 22 1/2 years have been agreed. They are with Ente Nazionale per d'Energia Elletrica of Italy for 2.5 million metric tons/year, Enagas of Spain 725,000 metric tons/year, Gaz de France 362,500 metric tons/year, and Cabot Corp. 507,500 metric tons/year.

Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.