INPEX has awarded Saipem an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract for the gas export pipeline at the Ichthys LNG Project in the Browse basin off Western Australia.

The scope of work will include installation of an 889-km (552-mi), 42-in. (1.07-m) subsea pipeline in water depths of up to 275 m (902 ft) to connect the offshore central processing facility with the onshore processing facility in Darwin.

Saipem’s new pipelay vessel Castorone will perform main offshore construction activities during 2014. The recently upgraded Semac 1 pipelay barge will handle the shallow water section.

Ichthys LNG is a joint venture between operator INPEX and Total. Gas from the Ichthys field, roughly 200 km (124 mi) offshore Western Australia, will undergo preliminary processing offshore to remove water and extract condensate.

It will then be exported to the plant in Darwin via the new subsea pipeline. The Ichthys Project should deliver 8.4 MM metric tons/yr (9.25 MM tons) of LNG and 1.6 MM metric tons (1.76 MM tons) of LPG, along with 100,000 b/d of condensate at peak.