The contract was awarded to Saipem (Portugal) Comercio Maritimo, a subsidiary of the international pipeline contractor Saipem. The installation contract will involve the use of two state-of-the-art specialist installation barges, including Saipem’s 30,000-tonnage semi-submersible Semac 1. Under the contract, Saipem will dredge a 20-km offshore section of the pipeline route, collect and deliver the 11,000 12m-long weight-coated pipe-section from Batam Island, Indonesia, weld and lay the 134-km of pipeline, with anodes attached, and flood and pressure test the completed trunkline. The 42-in pipeline, which requires a special grade of steel and production techniques not available in Australia, is being manufactured in Japan and weight-coated in Indonesia before being transported to Australia. The installation program will run from May to August, 2003, with construction of the trunkline scheduled for completion in April, 2004, to coincide with completion of Train 4 at the onshore terminal. First LNG production from Train 4 is scheduled for mid-2004. This second trunkline will provide extra capacity to supply existing Japanese and Western Australian customers, as well as for prospective gas-related projects on the Burrup. The six equal participants in the North West Shelf Venture are: Woodside Energy Ltd (operator), BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd, BP Developments Australia Pty Ltd, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd, and Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd. ,THE North West Shelf Venture has announced the award of the offshore installation contract for the second gas supply trunkline linking its offshore production facilities to its onshore gas plant, near Karratha in Western Australia.