SNC-Lavalin Wins Oz QGC Contract

Services company SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a three-year contract from Shell to provide an operations and maintenance workforce at the Anglo-Dutch major's QGC assets in Queensland, the former said on October 7.

Under the agreement, SNC-Lavalin will provide a peak of 300 personnel to continue the existing operation and maintenance programme for the assets, which comprise 24 field compression stations, six central gas processing plants (CPPs), five sales stations and one power station, the company said. The scope also includes the provision of personnel to support the operation and maintenance of 2,500 wells and a 450-km pipeline connecting the CPPs to Shell's 8.5mn mt/yr LNG liquefaction plant on Curtis Island. SNC-Lavalin will begin supplying manpower on-site in early Q4 2019, reaching a peak workforce by December 2019. The three-year contract has an optional one-year plus one-year extension.

The Shell-operated QGC venture focuses on developing Queensland's onshore gas reserves. It has supplied the domestic market since 2006 and international customers since 2014. Shell’s QGC business produces natural gas from wells drilled into coal beds in the Surat Basin.  Shell is the majority interest holder in the QGC venture. Its partners include China's Cnooc, with a 50% stake in LNG plant's first train, and Japan's Tokyo Gas, with a 2.5% position at its second train.