The Inpex -operated Ichthys LNG project completed the offshore pre-lay of the 77-kilometre chain and cable mooring system in the Browse Basin, located off the northern coast of Western Australia.
As part of the mooring system, 49 chains were laid on the seabed in water depths of up to 250 metres and anchored to foundation piles—5.5 metres in diameter and 63 metres long, Inpex said in its statement on Wednesday.
The mooring system will secure the project’s central processing facility (CPF) and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility in the Ichthys field seabed for at least 40 years of continuous operation.
Once located in the Field, the CPF will deliver natural gas and some condensate through an 890-kilometre subsea gas export pipeline to onshore processing facilities in the Northern Territory. Most condensate will be processed through the FPSO and shipped directly to market from the field, Inpex said.
The 28 CPF mooring chains required more than 25,000 tonnes of mainly 178-millimetre diameter chain while the 21 FPSO mooring chains needed more than 15,000 tonnes of mainly 161-millimetre diameter chain. Each chain link weighs more than 700 kilograms.
In addition to the mooring system, more than 16,000 tonnes of subsea structures and 140 kilometres of rigid flowlines have been installed across the Ichthys field.
Once it is completed, the Ichthys LNG project will be producing 8.9 mtpa of liquefied natural gas at its onshore processing facilities located at Bladin Point near Darwin.
The Ichthys project is a joint venture between Japan’s Inpex, major partner Total of France, Taiwan’s CPC Corporation and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.
LNG World News Staff