Woodside Energy Ltd. has started the tender process for the first major element of its proposed Enfield development off Western Australia's northwest coast.
Woodside has invited several international shipbuilders to tender for construction of the hull of a FPSO, which will be moored over Woodside's wholly owned Enfield discovery in permit WA271P, 130 km west of Onslow.
Enfield has reserves of 100 MMbbl and is one of three discoveries in the permit that have total reserves of 300 MMbbl.
Keith Spence, Woodside's oil director, said the final investment decision for the project would be made in the 2Q of 2004, with first oil from the field scheduled for 2006. The contract for the hull was to be awarded in the middle of 2003, with delivery in 2005.
The hull shipbuilders invited to tender were chosen after a pre-qualification process. Australian companies do not have the capability to build the hull.
Tenders for the turret mooring and the engineering, procurement, and construction management contract for the FPSO project will be invited within the next few weeks. Procurement of the topsides equipment and fabrication will begin in late 2003.
The FPSO will be a Suezmax-type trading tanker modified for FPSO operations. It will be a double-hull construction, will have deadweight of 150,000 metric tons and will be 270 m long. It will have a capacity of 900,000 bbl and a production rate of 100,000 b/d. The vessel will be self-propelled and will be able to disconnect from the turret mooring and sail way in cyclones.
02/03/03
