PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas producer Woodside in December reported that the North West Shelf (NWS) project participants had executed fully-termed gas processing agreements (GPAs) for processing third-party gas through the NWS project facilities.

Gas from Woodside’s Pluto fields, along with gas from the subsidiaries of Mitsui & Co Ltd and Beach Energy from their Waitsia gas project Stage 2 would now be treated at the NWS operation.

Execution of the GPAs is a key milestone in the transformation of the Karratha gas plant (KGP) into a third-party gas tolling facility and secures gas to fill emerging processing capacity, Woodside said.

Both GPAs are subject to conditions precedent including relevant government and regulatory approvals.

The GPA with Woodside Burrup is to process approximately three-million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in aggregate and approximately 24.7 PJ of domestic gas at KGP in the period 2022 to 2025. The gas will be sourced from the offshore Pluto fields and transported to the NWS project facilities through the Pluto-KGP Interconnector, which is targeted to be ready for startup in 2022.

The GPA with Mitsui and Beach is to provide gas processing services for gas from the onshore Waitsia gas project Stage 2 for an aggregate of approximately 7.5-million tonnes of LNG in the period between the second half of 2023 and the end of 2028.

In support of the GPAs, the NWS project participants have also taken a final investment decision for the infrastructure required to receive gas from the Pluto-KGP Interconnector and the Burrup extension pipeline, which will be used for Waitsia gas. Construction is targeted to commence in the first quarter of 2021.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the transformation of KGP into a third-party tolling facility would create new opportunities for Western Australia’s gas industry.

“The processing of third-party gas resources will unlock further value for the NWS project. It will provide new revenue and LNG exports from the NWS project, add to Western Australia’s domestic gas supplies from Pluto and help underpin Australia’s economic recovery,” he said.

The NWS project participants include Woodside, BHP Billiton, BP, Chevron, Japan Australia LNG and Shell. Woodside Burrup holds a 90% interest in Pluto LNG and operates the Pluto LNG facilities.