Transition to tolling third-party gas at Karratha Gas Plant: an attractive investment which unlocks infrastructure utilisation
Tom Lukatela A * and Holly Thomas A *A Woodside Energy, Mia Yellagonga, Karlak, 11 Mount Street, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 S125-S128 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22257
Accepted: 13 March 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
In December 2020, the North West Shelf (NWS) Project participants executed fully-termed third-party Gas Processing Agreements with Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd (Woodside Burrup), for gas from the Pluto fields, and with subsidiaries of Mitsui & Co Ltd and Beach Energy Limited (Mitsui and Beach), for the Waitsia Gas Project Stage 2. These agreements underpinned final investment decisions in the infrastructure projects, business processes, and digital tools, necessary to process third-party gas from the Pluto-Karratha Gas Plant (KGP) Interconnector, and the Burrup Extension Pipeline (BEP). Tolling operations commenced at the NWS Project in March 2022 with the processing of gas delivered from Pluto through the Interconnector. The first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo produced from gas through the Interconnector was loaded in April 2022. KGP is also expected to commence processing Waitsia gas via the BEP from 2023. Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill stated: ‘The start-up of the Pluto-KGP Interconnector provides access to spare capacity at Karratha Gas Plant to process gas owned by other resource owners, both onshore and offshore Western Australia. The commencement of Pluto gas flowing through the Interconnector is the first example of this… The commercial agreements underpinning third-party gas processing at the North West Shelf reflect the commitment of Woodside and the North West Shelf Project to maximising value from the significant infrastructure on the Burrup Peninsula’. The development of the necessary infrastructure, business/operational processes, and digital tools is a forward looking investment which unlocks an efficient market in third-party gas processing market at KGP.
Keywords: Gas Processing Agreements, LNG, North West Shelf, other resource owners, Pluto-KGP Interconnector, spare capacity, ullage, utilisation.
Tom Lukatela, Development Manager – NWS, Woodside Energy Ltd. With Woodside in various roles for over 13 years, Tom Lukatela is currently the Development Manager for the Woodside operated North West Shelf Joint Venture. Born in Toronto, Canada, Tom graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences from Queens University in Kingston, Canada and subsequently graduated with a Mechanical Engineering (Honours) degree from Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Before joining Woodside in 2009, Tom held a number of technical sales and consulting roles in Canada and Australia. Since joining Woodside Tom has held a number of facility and engineering management roles at Woodside’s Australian LNG plants, project development roles across the NWS Onshore and Offshore Infrastructure, and corporate roles in Digital Business Transformation. |
Holly Thomas, Production and Planning Manager – NWS, Woodside Energy Ltd. With Woodside in various roles for over 11 years, Holly Thomas is currently the Production and Planning Manager for the Woodside operated North West Shelf Joint Venture. Holly graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Environmental) from Murdoch University and subsequently with a Masters of Cleaner Production from Curtin University. Before joining Woodside Holly held roles in environmental consulting and waste management in Perth, working in mining, heavy industry, and oil and gas. Since joining Woodside Holly has advised and lead environmental management activities and approvals for projects, drilling and completions, and operations. She recently lead a diverse team managing COVID-19 resilience. Outside of work Holly is a regular volunteer and participant at her local parkrun. |
