PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Woodside and the North West Shelf (NWS) project participants have struck an agreement with the Western Australian government that would enable the supply of feed gas from Pluto to be processed at the NWS’s Karratha gas plant (KGP).

The agreement with the state government followed a December agreement between Woodside and the NWS project participants to process some three-million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in aggregate and some 24.7 PJ of domestic gas at KGP between 2022 and 2025.

Woodside has also reached an agreement with the state government to market and make available an additional 45.6 PJ of domestic gas from its existing NWS equity position from 2025.

CEO Peter Coleman on Friday said that the state agreement built on Woodside’s long-standing commitment to the Western Australian gas market and provided the energy security required to underpin the development of new industry for the state.

“Connecting the Pluto and NWS facilities accelerates the production of offshore Pluto gas and provides flexible access to emerging LNG processing capacity. The Pluto-KGP Interconnector is the first step in realising our vision for a regional LNG hub on the Burrup Peninsula.

“As the world continues to respond to Covid-19 and volatile market conditions, it is critical that operators and government work together to grow the gas industry, create local jobs and establish Western Australia as a global LNG hub,” he said.

Construction started this month on the additional infrastructure required at KGP and the 5 km, 30-inch Pluto-KGP Interconnector. The interconnector pipeline will be constructed along the existing Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline corridor. An average of 250 workers will be employed during the construction phase, with the workforce expected to peak at 320.

Startup of the Pluto-KGP Interconnector is targeted for 2022.