Chevron Presses Ahead with Jansz-Io Platform
Monday 26 September 2016
US supermajor Chevron is gathering information from major services companies as part of its preparations for building a large semi-submersible gas compression platform for the Jansz-Io field off Western Australia.
The compression platform project is currently in a concept design phase with WorleyParsons focused on topsides design and Aker Solutions involved in semisub hull design.
Sources have indicated previously that WorleyParsons is working on a topsides design that could weigh up to 20,000 tonnes.
Chevron has in the past month issued a market inquiry to contractors as part of an information-gathering exercise in the build up to tendering for front-end engineering and design in the first half of next year.
Sources said the information exercise was being managed by a third party on behalf of Chevron. It was split into two parts. One covered the large semisub platform and one covered the subsea and riser package.
Contractors were asked to provide high-level information on their ability, capacity and track record with such facilities.
In addition, contractors were asked to determine how much of the FEED work would be performed in Australia, how much of it would be done overseas, plus the level of sub-contracting.
The inquiry is expected to receive a widespread response, said sources.
Sources indicated previously that Chevron had also considered a spar platform design for the compression project, but the semisub had always been the basecase facility in the operator’s mind.
The gas compression platform will be located in water depths of about 1000 metres at the Jansz-Io field, which is one of Australia’s largest fields and is understood to be the country’s deepest producing field in water depths of up to 1350 metres.
Jansz-Io is a major feedstock field for the Chevron-led Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant.
The Jansz-Io compression platform is one of two compression units that Chevron will require, the second will be a fixed platform in about 200 metres of water at the Gorgon field itself.
Chevron has outlined previously that compression is needed in the Gorgon project’s later life.
Gorgon began LNG production from the first of three trains in March this year but suffered two early production shutdowns.
Production from train one seems to have been steady since late July, while Chevron is busy completing the construction of trains two and three.
First LNG from train two is expected early in the fourth quarter this year and from train three in the second quarter of 2017.
However, ramp up of all three trains to full production will take between six and eight months, meaning full capacity from train one is not expected until late 2016.
The Jansz-Io field was discovered by ExxonMobil in May 2000 using the deep-water drilling rig Marine 500.
It contains an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable sales gas, and was owned on a 50:50 basis by ExxonMobil and Chevron until April 2005 when Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell agreed on a new ownership structure for the overall Gorgon project including the feedstock fields.
The equity split for the overall project including Jansz-Io is operator Chevron with a 47.3% interest, ExxonMobil with 25%, Shell on 25%, Osaka Gas with 1.25%, Tokyo Gas on 1% and Chubu Electric Power with 0.417%.