A contract for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of a 260-kilometer gas export pipeline on the Barossa project was awarded to offshore installation and construction company Allseas.
One of the partners in the project, Santos, said on Thursday that the contract was another major big step towards the Barossa final investment decision early next year.
The Barossa project is currently in the front-end engineering design phase and includes a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) facility, subsea production system, and gas export pipeline.
According to the company, the gas export pipeline will tie the Barossa gas field, 300 kilometers north of Darwin, into the existing Bayu Undan to Darwin pipeline.
Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “This is another big step towards Barossa FID and follows the award of the subsea production system and installation support contract in May. Evaluation of tenders for the FPSO and development drilling contracts is well progressed.”
The project area encompasses petroleum permit NT/RL5 located in Commonwealth waters offshore Northern Territory.
Santos holds a 25 percent interest in the Barossa joint venture along with partners ConocoPhillips which holds a 37.5 percent stake and is the operator, while SK E&S holds the remaining 37.5 percent.