Australia’s Woodside Energy marked a significant milestone in its Scarborough gas and LNG project offshore Western Australia with the arrival of the first three Pluto Train 2 modules.
The three modules, fabricated by Bechtel in Indonesia, weigh a combined 4,000 tons and are the first of 51 modules to be shipped to the site from the module yard to form Pluto Train 2.
Pluto Train 2 is the second LNG production train at the existing Pluto LNG onshore facility and will process gas from the Scarborough development.
Bechtel was selected by Woodside Energy to execute the engineering, procurement, and construction of Pluto Train 2, with construction activities beginning in November 2021.
The final investment decision to develop the Scarborough gas field was announced in November 2021. The field is located approximately 375 km off the coast of Western Australia and is estimated to contain 11.1 Tcf of dry gas.
Development of the field will include the installation of a floating production unit with eight wells drilled in the initial phase and 13 wells drilled over the life of the field. The gas will be transported to Pluto LNG through a new 430-km pipeline.
Scarborough gas, which will be processed through Pluto Train 2, will be one of the lowest- carbon-intensity sources of LNG delivered to North Asia, according to Woodside.
Pluto Train 2 will have a liquefaction capacity of about 5 mtpa, and additional domestic gas infrastructure will be installed at the facility to increase domestic gas capacity to about 225 terajoules per day. Up to 3 mtpa of LNG will be processed at the existing Pluto Train 1 following modifications to accommodate Scarborough’s lean gas.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the delivery of the first Pluto Train 2 module was a key milestone towards the delivery of the Scarborough Energy Project, which will help meet the growing demand for the low-cost, lower-carbon, reliable energy the world needs today and into the future.
“The safe and timely arrival of the module is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Woodside team and our lead contractor, Bechtel,” she said. “With the Scarborough energy project sitting at more than 55% complete, we are making significant progress across all scopes of work and look forward to receiving the remaining modules on-site throughout 2024.”
The Scarborough project is targeting the first LNG cargo in 2026.
