Woodside Pushes Back Browse FID Again

Bartolomej Tomic
Friday, February 14, 2020

Australian oil and gas giant Woodside has delayed the long-expected Final Investment Decision for the massive Browse gas development off W. Australia again. 

The offshore area comprising the Brecknock, Calliance, and Torosa fields - the Browse resource - sits in the offshore Browse Basin, around 425 kilometers north of Broome in Western Australia.

Woodside aims to develop of 13.9 Tcf of dry gas and 390 MMbbl of condensate from the Browse resources.

The company had previously expected to reach FID on the $20.5 billion project in late 2020, then in the first half of 2021, and now the timeline has been pushed again, with FID expected in late 2021. 

The Browse Joint Venture is ready to start FEED, subject to completion of gas processing agreement negotiations, Woodside said. Woodside is the operator with a 30.6% stake.

The FEED phase involves activities required to finalize the costs and technical definition ahead of FID and to prepare for the post-FID execution phase, including the preparation of contracts. 

Further engineering definition work is continuing in the lead up to FEED entry, Woodside said.

The Browse development concept utilizes two FPSO facilities. It is designed to deliver 12 Mtpa of LNG/LPG and domestic gas through an approximately 915 km trunkline to existing NWS infrastructure, with condensate processed on the FPSOs. 

The first FPSO should be ready for start-up in 2026 and the second FPSO in 2027.

Asked about the new FID date delay, Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the Browse team has updated or has benchmarked the amount of time required to go through the FEED activities based on the complexity of the offshore facilities. 

"To put it into context, the topsides for the offshore facilities are around about 45,000 tonnes which puts them into the top decile of complexity on a global scale. Not as complex as FLNG but certainly as complex as some of the larger FPSO facilities that you will see around the world."

Coleman said that given that the value is made or lost on these projects in early engineering, a decision was made to extend the FEED period by a few months.

"We're also recognizing that the commercial negotiations are still not complete. We're down to the last three or four value items. But. it's difficult for me to predict when that will actually be closed at the moment."


Categories: LNG FPSO Production Gas Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

Woodside Inks Long-Term LNG Supply Deal with China Resources

Shell Launches Next Phase of Malaysia's Deepwater Project with First Oil Production

Valeura Wraps Up Infill Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand

SLB Names Raman CSO, CMO

Six New Gas Wells in Line for BP’s Shah Deniz Field in Caspian Sea

Japan's Mitsui Eyes Alaska LNG Project

CNOOC Boosts Dongfang Gas Fields Output with New Platform Coming Online

BP to Help Boost Oil and Gas Output at India’s Largest Producing Field

China’s CNOOC Brings Bohai Sea Oil Field On Stream

Current News

INEOS Wraps Up Acquisition of CNOOC’s US Oil and Gas Assets

Fire at Petronas Gas Pipeline in Malaysia Sends 63 to Hospital

Japan’s ENEOS Xplora, PVEP Ink Deal for Vietnam Offshore Block

CNOOC Makes Major Oil and Gas Discovery in South China Sea

Valeura’s Assets in Gulf of Thailand Remain Operational After Earthquake

Op-Ed: Kazakhstan’s National O&G Firm Positioning Itself as Global Energy Player

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

CNOOC Sees 11% Profit Growth in 2024 Driven by Record Oil Production

‘Ultra-Mega’ Offshore Deal for L&T at QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field Gas Scheme

Keel Laying for Wind Flyer Trimaran Crew Boat

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com