Woodside has completed technical work and capex requirements for its Scarborough gas development offshore Western Australia.
(Courtesy Woodside)
Rendering of the Scarborough FPU.
Offshore staff
PERTH, Australia – Woodside has completed technical work and capex requirements for its Scarborough gas development offshore Western Australia, ahead of a final investment decision later this year.
The company has been working on costs with the project’s main contractors, optimizing design and execution planning, and increasing the offshore processing capacity.
Its latest estimate is $12 billion comprising $5.7 billion for the offshore component and $6.3 billion for the onshore facilities, 5% higher than the previous estimate in November 2019.
(Courtesy Woodside)
The increase is due partly to required modifications to Pluto LNG Train 1 for processing Scarborough’s gas; and the targeted raising of offshore production capacity from 6.5 MM t/yr of LNG to 8 MMt/yr, plus an additional well.
However, the anticipated internal rate of return of the Scarborough/Pluto Train 2 development is greater than 12%, with a globally competitive (according to Woodside) cost of supply of around $6.8/MMBtu to north Asia, with the first cargo set to be shipped in 2026.
The company’s acting CEO Meg O’Neill said: “Woodside’s contracting strategy for Scarborough reduces cost risk, with approximately 90% of total project contractor spend structured as lump-sum and fixed rate agreements.”
