August 26, 2022 [ LNG Prime ] – Australian LNG player Woodside and US engineer Bechtel have started building the second train at the Pluto LNG export plant in Western Australia.

In November, Woodside took a final investment decision on the Scarborough and Pluto LNG Train 2 developments worth about $12 billion.

The approval also includes new domestic gas facilities and modifications to the first Pluto 4.9 mtpa train on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula.

Woodside also sold a 49 percent non-operating stake in the second Pluto LNG train to US-based Global Infrastructure Partners.

The firm announced in a statement on Wednesday that construction has started on the new liquefaction unit.

Bechtel will execute the engineering, procurement, and construction of Pluto Train 2, which will have an LNG capacity of about 5 mtpa.

Also, to continue to support Australia’s domestic market, additional domestic gas infrastructure would be installed with capacity of about 225 Terajoules per day, equivalent to keeping the lights on for a year in about 10,000 households, according to Woodside.

About 2000 people to work on the project
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the start of construction on Pluto Train 2 was a “key milestone towards the delivery of the Scarborough project, which would provide significant long-term economic growth and local employment opportunities for Western Australia.”

“Scarborough gas processed through an expanded and efficient Pluto facility will support the decarbonization goals of our customers in Asia,” she said.

Moreover, the Pluto Train 2 project will employ about 2000 people at peak in 2024. Woodside expects the project to employ a “large contingent of employees” from within Western Australia.

Bechtel has already engaged a number of local and Indigenous businesses to support delivery, with more awards anticipated as the project progresses, it said.

The US engineering and construction firm has started site preparation, including office, crib hut, as well as other facility installation.

Initial earthworks and activities in the laydown and storage areas would start up before the end of 2022, Woodside said.

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