Construction activities are ramping up on the Papua New Guinea (PNG) LNG Project moving into the second quarter of 2011. Linepipe for the onshore gas pipeline has been arriving at the expanded shore base at Kopi, and clearing of the pipeline right-of-way has commenced. The manufacture of linepipe, including internal coating and concrete weight coating, is complete for the offshore section of the pipeline.

The project involves a two-train, 6.6 MMt/a LNG processing facility, and the integrated development of the Hides, Angore and Juha gas fields, as well as associated gas from the Kutubu, Agogo, Gobe and Moran oil fields.

The gas will be transported to the LNG plant near Port Moresby through approximately 850 km of onshore and offshore large diameter pipeline.

Constructing in PNG

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The onshore pipeline and affiliated infrastructure will be built by French company Spiecapag. The onshore section will consist of a buried pipeline overland from the Hides gas plant to the Omati River landfall, a distance of approximately 300 km.

Construction of the offshore pipeline will be undertaken by Italian company Saipem. The scope of work includes the engineering, transportation and installation of a 407 km, 34 inch diameter subsea gas pipeline from the Omati River landfall point on the southern coast of PNG to the onshore point near Port Moresby, where the LNG plant will be located.

The contract also includes the shore approach excavation and backfilling at Port Moresby, and the trenching and backfilling of a 75 km section of the pipeline at the Omati River landfall.

Flying pipe – constructing a custom built airport

Due to PNG’s extreme undulating terrain, an airport is being constructed to ensure materials are delivered to the site on time.

A joint venture between McConnell Dowell and Consolidated Contractors has been awarded the contract to procure and construct the Komo Airfield in PNG, located 10 km southeast of the Hides Gas Conditioning Plant, which will receive air freight for the project.

The runway will be 3.2 km long, which compares with the length of major international airports – Heathrow’s longest runway is 3.9 km.

The length of the runway has been dictated by the fact that it will be receiving Antonov AN-124 aircraft that will be bringing in materials for the PNG LNG upstream facilities over a six-month period. In the long term, Dash-8 aircraft will be the most frequent users of the airport.

The LNG Project is expected to deliver its first LNG shipments by late 2013 or early 2014.

Joint venture participants include ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Highlands as operator (33.2 per cent), Oil Search (29 percent), the PNG Government (16.6 per cent), Santos (13.5 per cent), Nippon Oil (4.7 percent), Mineral Resources Development Company (2.8 per cent) and Petromin PNG Holdings Limited (0.2 per cent).