Inpex has completed installation of subsea infrastructure and equipment for the extraction of gas and condensate from the Ichthys field for the Ichthys LNG project.
The final laying of 49 kilometers of umbilicals and flying leads, marked the last placement of the subsea network, spread across a 400 square kilometer area of the Ichthys field, in the Browse Basin, about 220 kilometers offshore Western Australia.
Louis Bon , Ichthys project managing director, said: “Since October 2014, hundreds of people have worked offshore without any significant safety incidents to install the Ichthys LNG project’s 133,000 tonne subsea network.
“Carrying out this work more than 200 kilometers out to sea in water depths of around 250 meters involves substantial planning and logistical challenges to manage crew changes and equipment transportation. ”
Included in the extensive subsea gathering system is a 110 meter high riser support structure, five manifolds, 139 kilometers of flowlines, 49 kilometers of umbilicals and flying leads, 2640 tonnes of production and MEG spools, five subsea distribution units and a subsea distribution hub.
Finalizing the subsea installation signified the project was now ready for the arrival of the central processing facility (CPF) and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities, currently under commissioning in South Korea, Inpex said.
Once all commissioning activities in the South Korean shipyards are finished, the offshore facilities will be towed to the Ichthys field and moored for their 40 year operational life by 40,000 tonnes of chain secured to more than 25,000 tonnes of foundation piles.