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Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Maximising value in mega-projects: Ichthys LNG project

Cornelis van der Linden A and Bill Townsend A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A INPEX.

B Presenter only.

The APPEA Journal 56(2) 576-576 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15082
Published: 2016

Abstract

The INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project is one of the world's most complex gas developments, incorporating all elements of the production chain.

It is three mega projects rolled into one.

The offshore project includes the world’s largest semisubmersible central processing facility and a large floating production, storage and offloading facility.

An 890 km subsea gas export pipeline joins offshore facilities to a state-of-the-art onshore processing plant near Darwin.

Managing more than 30,000 personnel working across the globe to construct this project demands excellence in project management.

INPEX’s approach allows seamless interface management and a tight grip on cost and schedule to deliver a complicated, giant project, and 40 years of future field operations.

Cornelis van der Linden joined the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project as Deputy Onshore Project Director in May 2010, on secondment from Total E&P.

A graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris and the California Institute of Technology (MSc), Cornelis’ career spans more than 30 years in the oil and gas industry, 23 of these with Total and formerly with Shell.

Prior to his present position on Ichthys, Cornelis was Head of Engineering-Construction within the Total E&P Projects division.

His other assignments included project and technology management postings for developments in the Middle East, Europe, North America and West Africa.

Bill Townsend is General Manager, External Affairs and Joint Ventures at INPEX.

In this role, Bill leads a 30-person team responsible for managing the company’s government and community relations, corporate social responsibility, regulatory approvals and compliance, communications, media relations and branding as well as joint venture management.

Bill joined INPEX in 2006 and is a member of the Ichthys LNG Project Executive Committee.

Beginning his career as a US Navy submarine officer, Bill entered the oil and gas industry in 1994 as a Business Advisor to BP Russia based in Moscow.

Further commercial and external affairs assignments with BP followed and include the Shah Deniz gas project in Azerbaijan and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project in Georgia as well as additional roles with BP in the Caspian region.