Woodside and Bechtel shake hands on revised deal for US LNG terminal

Australia’s energy giant Woodside has signed a revised lump-sum turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with Bechtel Energy, a U.S.-headquartered engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, for a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Louisiana, United States.

The revised contract entails work on the three-train 16.5 million tonnes per annum foundation development of Woodside Louisiana LNG. Bechtel has worked on-site since the acquisition and will continue to do so in line with the limited notice to proceed (LNTP) executed under the revised deal. According to the Australian major, the LNTP encompasses continued site construction and commitment to the foundation project’s key materials and services. 

Described as a high-quality, scalable development opportunity, with a total permitted capacity of 27.6 million tonnes per annum, the development entails 11 million tons per annum (mtpa) Phase 1 and 5.5 mtpa Phase 2. Woodside previously disclosed that Bechtel started construction under a lump-sum turnkey contract, with pilings for Trains 1 and 2 complete.

Formerly known as Driftwood LNG, the project is an under-construction, pre-final investment decision (FID), LNG production and export terminal in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. It was renamed two months ago after Woodside completed the acquisition of its previous owner Tellurian following an announcement of the $900 million deal in July.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said: “We continue to move at pace. In a short period of time, we have completed the acquisition, secured competitive revised EPC pricing that covers all three trains, and opened the data room with strong interest from potential project partners.

“Louisiana LNG is an advantaged project that is fully permitted and has Bechtel as the EPC contractor. The competitive pricing and schedule certainty we have now secured compounds this advantage in the current uncertain market environment for competing projects.”

The Australian major says it continues to target final investment decision (FID) readiness from Q1 2025, noting that the total expenditure from December to the end of Q1 2025 is forecast to be up to $1.3 billion. The estimated forward cost for the foundation development remains the same as at the time of acquisition, totaling $900-960/tonne.

Bechtel is working on another LNG project in the United States – the Rio Grande LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. In August, the U.S. contractor was selected by NextDecade Corporation to build Train 4 and related infrastructure for the proposed terminal.

Meanwhile, Woodside has been busy with activities around the globe. A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held for the semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) Trion HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) is building for the Trion development. A 60:40 joint venture between Woodside and Mexico’s PEMEX, the project is hailed as the first oil production from Mexico’s deepwater.