Santos LTD Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas Program - EPC

Client: Santos Limited

Location: Queensland, Australia

Map showing the location of Santos LTD Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas Program - EPC

Executive Summary

Fluor was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Santos Ltd in January 2011 for its Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) project in Queensland, Australia.

Our EPC contract included upstream facilities associated with the 7.8 million tonnes-per-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that would extract and liquefy gas from coal deposits for eventual export to Asia and other global markets.

The GLNG project was one of the largest in the world. In 2012, we made significant progress on the project, including construction of temporary camps; pilings; a pond; road networks; setting mechanical equipment; installation of pipelines, gas/water gathering networks and overhead power lines; and wellpad mechanical, engineering and instrumentation construction. Shutdown and tie-ins to existing infrastructure had also been completed.

Perhaps the greatest milestone of this phase of the construction was the achievement of 2 million safe work hours.

The workforce on the project represented people from all over the world, including Australia, Europe, the Philippines, South Africa and the U.S. The project leadership strived to create harmony among the differing cultures.

The project represented a major investment in the local community and increased the number of jobs in Queensland. Santos and Fluor invested billions of dollars in the community through local procurement of goods and services for the project.

In addition, the Fluor Australia GLNG community engagement plan was implemented through sponsorship initiatives to benefit not-for-profit organizations and indigenous groups.

Client's Challenge

The project was a partnership comprising Santos, Australia's largest domestic gas producer, PETRONAS, Malaysia's national oil and gas company and the second largest LNG producer in the world, Total, French energy major and the world's fifth largest publicly traded integrated international oil and gas company and KOGAS, the world's largest buyer of LNG.

GLNG was a groundbreaking project. using world-first technology to process coal seam gas (CSG) into LNG. It represented a major investment in Queensland jobs and a cleaner energy source for the future and was intended to cement the state's position in a booming international LNG market.

The LNG project involved development of coal seam gas production and processing facilities, onshore pipelines that included a 270-mile (435-kilometer) gas pipeline to Gladstone and the LNG liquefaction plant at Gladstone. The Santos joint venture developed and would operate the 435-kilometer gas pipeline to Gladstone and the LNG liquefaction plant there. Santos would develop the port facilities.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor was awarded the front-end-engineering and design (FEED) contract in June 2009. In January 2011, Santos awarded us the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the project.

Fluor and Santos worked closely to engage the industry stakeholders, especially local businesses, the Industry Capability Network and local interest groups to ensure maximum opportunities for Australian industry as the project progressed.

Once construction on the GLNG project was in progress, and aside from local workers, site staff included workers from other parts of Australia, Europe, the Philippines, South Africa. The U.S. Site management strove to bring harmony among the different cultures working on the site.

We adhered to stringent compliance rules governing the environment and cultural heritage in Queensland. Fluor and Santos worked together to minimize the project footprint as much as possible.

Construction equipment working on pipeline

Conclusion

Fluor carried out our working relationship with Santos, the Gladstone LNG partners and the State of Queensland by assisting them to become a leading supplier of LNG to key economies in Asia.

The landmark clean-energy project was developed with world-class environmental standards and close engagement with local communities.