Woodside Awards Pluto Offshore Work

Australian Woodside has awarded a contract to TechnipFMC to upgrade the Pluto Platform Offshore for water treatment, the French contractor announced June 6 without disclosing its value.

The contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the Pluto water handling module - which is to be installed on the existing Pluto Alpha gas production Platform. The new module will also include upgraded power generation units. TechnipFMC said the new order was included in its 1Q results.

The Pluto offshore facility is 190 km offshore Karratha, Western Australia. The licence is held by Woodside (operator and 90%), Kansai Electric (5%) and Tokyo Gas (5%). Gas is piped to the Pluto LNG onshore unit. 

Woodside said in March 2018 it plans to develop the Scarborough gasfield, which it now operates, through its Pluto LNG onshore facility. Woodside vice president for exploration Craig Goulder told the Africa E&P Summit conference in London May 23 that Woodside's plan is that Scarborough should be ready for start-up "within five years."