Global engineering and consulting firm John Wood Group plc has extended its brownfield engineering, procurement and construction management contract supporting Woodside Energy’s North West Shelf (NWS) project in Australia.
The contract has been extended through October 2025, Wood said in a news release Tuesday. Woodside operates the NWS project on behalf of the NWS Joint Venture participants and has a 33.33 percent interest in the project, while BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd and Shell Australia Pty Ltd each. they have 16.67 percent, according to Woodside’s website.
The NWS project assets include the Karratha gas plant, the North Rankin complex, the Goodwyn A platform and the Angel platform, according to the website.
“Our long-term relationship with Woodside demonstrates the strength and reliability of Wood’s operational delivery in Australia,” said Ralph Ellis, president of Wood’s Asia Pacific operations. “It is also a great example of our technical expertise, our commitment to performance excellence and our relentless focus on the safe operations of our business.”
Woodside has also selected Woodside to provide the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the Goodwyn Alpha Low-Low Pressure (LLP) project, offshore Western Australia, according to the release.
Wood’s teams in Perth will provide an engineering design to incorporate the additional compression needed to improve the asset’s production, as well as necessary modifications to existing facilities, the company said.
Meanwhile, Wood signed a five-year framework agreement with the UK’s National Gas to upgrade its gas transportation systems, according to a separate press release.
National Gas operates Britain’s entire gas transmission system and has selected Wood to upgrade 4,722 miles (7,600 kilometers) of essential pipelines, compressor stations and terminal infrastructure as part of its commitment to the energy transition, said the press release
Wood said it will apply digital solutions to transform National Gas’s infrastructure into modern, cyber-secure technology across its network of critical assets in Britain.
Wood is also delivering specialized hydrogen studies to National Gas on its National Transmission System (NTS) to support its goal of achieving net zero by 2050. The company will analyze the characteristics of the hydrogen-gas mix natural and will advise on the level of investment needed to repurpose NTS infrastructure to transport hydrogen in 25 percent of its pipelines. Blending up to 20 percent hydrogen in the gas grid with existing natural gas could save about six million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, Wood said.
The NTS was built in the 1960s and 1970s with technology that is now reaching the end of its useful life, Wood noted.
“This work demonstrates the intrinsic link between digitization and decarbonization and Wood’s expertise in delivering tangible solutions that drive towards the industry’s net zero goals,” said Azad Hessamodini, Wood’s executive chairman of consulting. “We are delighted to be working and innovating with National Gas to deliver an improved and secure digital system that meets the needs of the UK’s future energy environment. Through our ability to combine hydrogen and digital expertise, we are also providing a path for NGT to transition to low-carbon fuels through hydrogen blending, further supporting the UK’s net-zero ambitions National Gas is leading the way in pipeline hydrogen blending not only for the gas industry fuel, but also to serve homes, communities and businesses”.
National Gas, made up of National Gas Transmission and National Gas Metering, was launched in February as the owner and operator of Britain’s gas transmission network, following the completion of the sale of a 60 per cent stake in the business of gas Transmission & Metering from National Grid to Macquarie. Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, according to a separate press release.
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