NEWS
Woodside Plans new Pluto field LNG project
Perth, Aug 8 (LNG journal)
- Australia's Woodside Petroleum said it has begun planning a new liquefied natural gas project worth up to US$ 3.8 billion at its Pluto gas field on the North West Shelf, off the coast of Western Australia.
Woodside Chief Executive Don Voelte said the company, which is about one-third owned by Royal Dutch Shell, said it had intensified its appraisal program to commercialize Pluto due to forecast strong LNG demand between 2010 and 2012 in the Asia-Pacific region and North America .
"Our 100 percent ownership of the field will enable fast yet rigorous decision making," Mr Voelte said in a statement. "We are now confident that we have sufficient gas to justify an LNG plant with a capacity of five to seven million tonnes a year to create enduring value for Woodside's shareholders."
The Pluto field, which was discovered by Woodside in April this year, is about
90 kilometres west of the Woodside-operated Goodwyn production platform on the North West Shelf.
oelte said Woodside expected substantive progress on gas sales agreements by year- end. Capital expenditure is expected to involve several billion dollars and will be refined with front-end engineering, which is scheduled to begin in November. With a final investment decision planned for mid-2007, LNG shipments could begin from late 2010, he said.
