Western LNG construction date set for 2020

THE construction phase of the Western LNG is projected to commence in 2020, according to a brief on the project by Horizon Oil chief executive Brent Emmet.
Emmet said the pre-FEED (front end engineering design) stage was due to be completed this year.
An investment decision based on the results of this would be made in the later part of 2019 by joint venture partners in the project.
“Our focus has really been on two things. It has been on costs and on getting these resources on stream as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are currently at the pre-FEED stage of the project and have quality contractors working on the three main elements of the project – the upstream gas processing plant, the export pipelines and the module facility.
“We expect to complete pre FEED by the end of this year. Our target is to begin FEED sometime later in 2018 with the objective of reaching a final investment decision in late 2019. This will allow construction to begin in 2020 targeting late 2023 for completion. Some will say it is an aggressive timeline and absolutely.
“At Horizon Oil, we don’t apologise for ambition.”
Emmet said the project would be competitive in the global LNG market when production is set to commence in 2023.
“We expect to see a strong demand for LNG in the Indonesian archipelago, in the countries surrounding the South China Sea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with growth rates forecast at 12 per cent per annum through the next decade.”