Commercial News - Wartsila wins inert gas contracts for Ichthys Project

Wartsila Moss AS reports winning a contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co (DSME) to supply inert gas generator (IGG) units to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG project in the Browse Basin, approximately 220km off Western Australia. 

According to the company, the vessel is due for delivery in April 2016 and will comply with strict Australian environmental standards with a projected lifespan of 40 years. The Ichthys Project is the largest oil and gas development in the Northern Territory and promises to deliver significant social and economic benefits to Australia.

Wärtsilä Moss said its scope of supply is two identical IGG Skids for installation in a hazardous area, to prevent risk of explosion, forming part of the topside module with PV Breakers and control systems as loose supply for installation by the South Korean shipyard. The contract was signed with DSME in September 2012.

“We have a good relationship with TOTAL oil and gas group, a joint venture partner with INPEX, where complete inert gas systems projects have been successfully supplied to several FPSOs,” says Odd Ivar Lindlov, general manager of Inert Gas Systems Offshore. “Recent projects have included the Pazflor and Clov field developments in which we have received very good feedback from the operating units.”

Wartsila explained the IGG units for Ichthys are installed to serve the primary operation of the FPSO, to transfer condensate to tankers for delivery to markets. The topside modules are surface installations that allow the drilling and/or production and/or processing of offshore hydrocarbons.

“The IGG units perform the same function as they would do on a tanker vessel, but as these units fire fuel gas they are positioned on topside to avoid the use of fuel gas in an enclosed space,” adds Lindlov. “This is a requirement from TOTAL to ensure natural ventilation of the topside.”

Gas from the Ichthys field will undergo preliminary processing offshore to remove water and extract condensate and the gas will be transported to onshore processing facilities in Darwin through an 889km-long subsea pipeline.

The onshore processing facilities are being constructed to produce peak volumes of 8.4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), 1.6 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per annum and approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day. Wartsila said the production volumes represent more than 10 per cent of Japan’s LNG imports at current levels.