Woodside Begins Construction of Pluto LNG Project

Woodside Petroleum has begun construction of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project. The first phase of the Pluto project will include a single liquefied natural gas (LNG) production train with forecast production of 4.3 million tons per annum (mtpa) (4.8 mtpa at 100% capacity) connected by a 180km, 36-inch offshore pipeline to a platform in 85 meters of water. Site preparation has been underway since January 2007, after Woodside received environmental and heritage approval to begin work on the project's storage tanks and export facility. Preparation work for the gas processing plant, where the production train will be located, has also started, according to Woodside. The platform is to be connected to five subsea big bore wells on the Pluto field, with first gas expected to be produced in late 2010.