WA announces start of major LNG project

The Western Australian Government has announced that Woodside Energy has begun construction on a second liquefied natural gas (LNG) train at its Pluto LNG onshore facility on the Burrup Peninsula, near Karratha.

The ground breaking of the Pluto Train 2 project is a key milestone for the Scarborough to Pluto Train 2 development, which will help meet the increasing global demand for LNG as a transitional energy source, the announcement said.

State Development, Jobs and Trade Minister Roger Cook congratulated Woodside Energy and Global Infrastructure Partners in reaching the project milestone at a ground breaking ceremony held last week.

“Western Australia is the main contributor to Australia’s LNG exports, accounting for 56%. By itself, WA is the world’s third largest LNG exporter, with 12% of global LNG supply in 2021,” he said. “Right now, we have a significant opportunity to further position the state as a safe and reliable supplier of LNG to the world, while strengthening our economy and delivering new local jobs.

“The development will support 3200 new jobs over the four-year construction period, and 600 jobs once fully operational, including around 230 local jobs for the Karratha region.”

Once completed, the $16 billion LNG development will see gas from the offshore Scarborough resource processed at Woodside Energy’s Pluto LNG facility.

As part of the development, a temporary accommodation village will be constructed to support the Pluto Train 2 project workers and manage the impacts on the local housing market in and around the City of Karratha.

The Pluto Train 2 project will support the export of around eight million tonnes of LNG per annum, and the delivery of around 1400 PJ of gas to the Western Australian market, through a new domestic gas production facility to be built at the Pluto site.

The project will facilitate domestic gas supply from the Scarborough gas field, securing the state’s long-term energy needs, and unlock new industrial and downstream processing developments, the announcement said.

Image: Pluto LNG onshore facility. Source: Woodside Energy.