Woodside has selected Bechtel, a US engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company as the preferred execution contractor for the proposed expansion of the Pluto LNG facility in Western Australia.

In the announcement this morning, Woodside said that the company will continue to work closely with Bechtel in preparation for award of the contract for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of the expansion. Activities will include continuing to refine the concept and costs.

The FEED contract award will also include the option for the full execution phase contract, subject to a positive final investment decision.

Currently, Pluto LNG processes gas from the offshore Pluto and Xena gas fields in Western Australia, whereby gas is piped through a 180-kilometre trunkline to a single onshore LNG-processing train. The proposed brownfield expansion of the facility includes the construction of a second LNG train with a targeted capacity of 4 – 5 Metric tonnes per annum (100 per cent project), to facilitate the development of the 7.3 Trillion cubic feet (2C, 100 per cent) Scarborough gas resource. These targets are subject to all necessary joint venture approvals, regulatory approvals and/or appropriate commercial arrangements being finalised.

Woodside’s CEO Peter Coleman said expanding the Pluto LNG facility is key to realising the company’s vision for the Burrup Hub.

“Expanding Pluto LNG will provide the necessary infrastructure to commercialise Western Australian gas resources for years to come,” Mr Coleman said.

“We look forward to progressing Train 2 concept definition work and continuing to build our relationship with Bechtel,” he commented.

Woodside aims to target FEED entry in Q1 2019 and a final investment decision in 2020, with Train 2 targeted to be ready for start-up in 2024.