WATCH: Woodside receives new vessel at Pluto LNG with open arms

August 1, 2024, by Melisa Čavčić

Australia’s energy giant Woodside Energy has bid a warm welcome to the newest addition to its global liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet after the vessel wrapped up its inaugural journey from the construction yard in South Korea to the company’s Pluto LNG project site in Karratha Western Australia.

Woodside Scarlet Ibis LNG vessel comes to Pluto LNG; Source: Woodside

A class dual-fuel LNG carrier, which enabled Hyundai Glovis, the logistics unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, to enter the LNG transport industry, was christened as Woodside Scarlet Ibis, after the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, at a ceremony held at HD Hyundai Samho’s shipyard in South Korea in late June.

The Northern Marine-managed vessel, which is chartered to Woodside Energy under a ten-year deal inked in 2022, was expected to make its first call at the Australian heavyweight’s Pluto LNG terminal in Western Australia. The Woodside Scarlet Ibis can transport around 174,000 cubic meters of LNG.

According to the energy giant, this is one of the most technologically advanced and efficient LNG vessels available. The LNG carrier is said to support the firm’s continued delivery of affordable energy solutions to customers worldwide, alongside efforts to lower the carbon intensity of its LNG deliveries.

This 292-meter-long ship, which has now completed its maiden journey from the construction yard in South Korea to Pluto LNG, is the seventh vessel in Woodside’s fleet of long-term charters, with four more scheduled for delivery by 2026 to support the start-up of the Scarborough energy project.

This project entails the installation of a floating production unit (FPU) with eight wells drilled in the initial phase and thirteen wells drilled over the life of the gas field. All wells will be tied back to a semi-submersible FPU moored in 950 meters of water close to the field.

The Scarborough gas field will be developed through new offshore facilities connected by a 430 km pipeline to a second LNG train at the existing Pluto LNG onshore facility. This development is anticipated to contribute an estimated $19 billion in direct taxes and spend $90 million with local Karratha businesses.

Recently, Woodside selected Monadelphous for construction work at its Pluto LNG Train 1 facility to enable the required changes to process gas from its Scarborough project in the Carnarvon Basin, 375 km off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. The first LNG production is scheduled for 2026.

The Australian energy heavyweight is progressing with the Scarborough project’s Pluto Train 2 after a 3,460-ton compressor module arrived at the construction site in Karratha a few months ago. The delivery of 29 out of 51 required modules has been confirmed with 25 of these set in position at the end of last quarter.

The total project cost estimate has increased by 4% to $12.5 billion driven by the price hike on the scope maturation of the Pluto Train 1 modifications project, which will process up to 3 tons of gas per annum (mtpa) with around 5 mtpa processed through Pluto Train 2.