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 connecting 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.

The onshore pipeline and affiliated infrastructure will be built by French company Spiecapag. The onshore section will connect the offshore pipeline and the LNG facility site, a distance of approximately 300 km.

Japanese engineering and construction firms Chiyoda and JGC have been awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the LNG plant. The plant will involve two trains, each with capacity of 3.3 MMt/a, as well as facilities for inlet processing, treating, liquefaction, storage and loading.

A joint venture between CB&I and Clough has been awarded an EPC contract for the gas conditioning plant. The joint venture will also be involved in the installation of nearby wellheads, and piping and infrastructure associated with the plant.

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McConnell Dowell and Consolidated Contractors have been jointly awarded a contract to procure and construct the Komo Airfield, located approcimately 10 km southeast of the future Juha developments.

ExxonMobil also recently has reached an agreement with the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to supply it with gas from the project.

Under the binding agreement, the Japanese company will receive approximately 1.8 MMt/a of LNG for 20 years.

Last month, the joint venture partners of the PNG LNG Project signed a Heads of Agreement with Sinopec subsidiary Unipec Asia, for the long-term supply of 2 MMt/a of LNG.

PNG LNG joint venture partners include ExxonMobil as operator, Oil Search, Santos and Nippon Oil.

The project has the potential to become the largest project ever undertaken in PNG, envisaging an integrated development of the Hides, Angore and Juha gas fields as well as associated gas from the Kutubu, Agogo, Gobe and Moran oil fields.