Singapore yard Sembcorp Marine will provide engineering, procurement, construction and installation services for a gas topsides project in Australia for an unnamed major energy company. The project is believed to be the Shell-led Crux gas field development offshore Western Australia.
Sembcorp Marine said that work on the topsides will be for four years.
In late May, Shell (LON:SHEL) said that it had taken a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Crux natural gas field to backfill the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, as the supermajor eyes strengthening demand from Asian customers, seeking to transition from coal to gas.
Construction will start this year and first gas is expected in 2027, Shell said in late May.
The $2.5 billion development will consist of an unmanned platform operated remotely from the 3.6 million tonnes per year (t/y) Prelude FLNG facility. Five wells will be drilled initially, and an export pipeline will connect the platform to Prelude, which is around 160 kilometres to the south-west of Crux in Commonwealth marine waters of the northern Browse basin.
Shell’s partners at Crux are Japan’s Osaka Gas, and a unit of Australia’s Seven Group Holdings.