The project includes the drilling of shore crossings to connect the upstream facilities for the Gorgon project to the onshore infrastructure on Barrow Island, located off the coast of northern Western Australia.
The contract was awarded to AJ Lucas, who will undertake construction of the nine holes using HDD emerging approximately 400 metres offshore.
The trenchless technique will be used in order to minimise any environmental impact. AJ Lucas will order two new rigs to conduct the work in order to minimise the risk of local contamination. The equipment will also be soundproofed to reduce any further impact on local fauna and marine life.
AJ Lucas CEO Allan Campbell said “Lucas prides itself on its horizontal directional drilling capability to minimise any environmental footprint.”
The Gorgon Project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron as operator, ExxonMobil and Shell to develop the Greater Gorgon gas fields and includes the installation of a subsea gathering system and pipelines from the Gorgon and Io/Jansz fields to Barrow Island.
Gas will be processed on Barrow Island via three LNG trains before being shipped to international markets or delivered domestically via a 90 kilometre subsea pipeline to the Western Australian mainland, interconnecting with the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.
The Greater Gorgon gas fields are Australia’s largest-known gas resources, containing about 40 trillion cubic feet of gas. It is expected that the 40 year project will produce about 15 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas every year.