Australian deal with ExxonMobil enlarges Wood’s headcount with 250 new jobs

UK’s engineering and consulting company Wood has secured a new assignment for onshore and offshore assets in the Gippsland Basin, Victoria, with Esso Australia, an Australian affiliate of ExxonMobil.

Thanks to a competitive tender process, Wood has won a deal it describes as a significant new contract to provide long-term maintenance solutions in support of safe energy production for onshore and offshore assets in the Gippsland Basin, operated by Esso Australia.

While the exact value and duration remain undisclosed, the deal enables the UK-based player to create around 250 jobs in Victoria in early 2025. The Gippsland Basin joint venture (JV) is a 50-50 joint venture between Esso Australia and Woodside.

The assignment, which is slated to start in January 2025, will see Wood provide maintenance services and shutdown support to optimize the operational performance of the Gippsland Basin joint venture’s offshore assets in the Bass Strait and the Longford and Long Island Point facilities.

According to the company, Bass Strait is the largest single source of natural gas for the domestic market in Australia and supplies approximately 40% of the country’s east coast demand.

Ken Gilmartin, CEO of Wood, commented: “We are proud to be trusted by Esso Australia as their maintenance partner in the Gippsland Basin, operating assets and facilities critical to the country’s energy security. Wood is a market leader in integrated operations and maintenance solutions with a growing portfolio in Australia as we bring our expertise to an expanding client base.

“This contract award recognises the quality of our delivery capability, our commitment to safe operations, the skills and expertise of our people and our enduring relationship with Esso Australia.”

The contract with ExxonMobil’s Australian affiliate follows a recently awarded five-year contract renewal to continue delivering brownfield engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions across the same Gippsland Basin assets.

Wood also landed an assignment with Woodside in July 2024 for the Sunrise and Troubadour gas and condensate fields, collectively known as Greater Sunrise, located approximately 450 kilometers northwest of Darwin and 150 kilometers south of Timor-Leste.