Wood and KBR, Inc. have secured a new multimillion dollar contract to deliver integrated front-end engineering design (FEED) for Shell Australia’s Crux project to build a not normally manned (NNM) platform and gas export pipeline located approximately 600km north of Broome, offshore Western Australia (WA).

The Crux facilities will be an important source of backfill gas supply to the Shell-operated Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility. The remotely operated, minimum facilities NNM platform concept for Crux will dry the gas and export the gas/condensate to Prelude via a new 160km multiphase gas pipeline.

The services will be delivered over 18-months by Wood and KBR’s engineering and project management teams in Perth, WA, supported by Wood’s Kuala Lumpur resource base. The teams will provide a single integrated FEED for the Crux topsides, jacket, export pipeline and subsea pipeline end manifold (PLEM).

Wood and KBR bring together over 80 years of history working in the Australian energy industry combining their collective strengths in subsea engineering and offshore gas processing facilities.

Robin Watson, Wood’s chief executive comments: “This contract win to deliver the next generation of offshore facilities for Shell Australia demonstrates our unrivalled subsea pipeline expertise and offshore engineering capabilities.

“Wood has extensive experience in delivering technically complex subsea engineering projects in Western Australia. We are committed to expanding our portfolio in the region, developing local content by investing in industry talent, resources and supply chain.

“Working alongside each other for more than 20 years, Wood and KBR provide a powerful combination, leveraging the experience of two tier one contractors.”

Wood also provides specialist consultancy services for flexible riser integrity management to the Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility.

Stuart Bradie, KBR president and CEO, said: “KBR is committed to adding value to our customers. That’s why we are delighted to partner with Wood to bring together two industry leaders to deliver one world-class complimentary team whilst continuing our long relationship with Shell and Perth, Australia.”

“This win builds on KBR’s long offshore experience in Australia and reinforces our extensive global leadership position in unmanned offshore facilities.”

About Crux:

The Shell-operated Crux Project has been identified as the primary source of backfill gas supply to the Prelude FLNG Facility, located in Commonwealth marine waters in the northern Browse Basin, 620km north-east of Broome.

The concept is a not normally manned Platform containing minimal processing facilities, utility systems and will be operated remotely from the Prelude FLNG Facility.

Shell Australia is the Operator with SGH Energy and Osaka Gas as joint venture participants.

About Wood

Wood is a global leader in the delivery of project, engineering and technical services to energy and industrial markets. We operate in more than 60 countries, employing around 55,000 people, with revenues of over $11 billion. We provide performance-driven solutions throughout the asset life-cycle, from concept to decommissioning across a broad range of industrial markets including the upstream, midstream and downstream oil & gas, chemicals, environment and infrastructure, power & process, clean energy, mining and general industrial sectors.

About KBR, Inc.

KBR (NYSE: KBR) is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Services and Hydrocarbons sectors. KBR employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 75 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses:

- Government Services, serving government customers globally, including capabilities that cover the full lifecycle of defense, space, aviation and other government programs and missions from research and development, through systems engineering, test and evaluation, program management, to operations, maintenance, and field logistics
- Technology, including proprietary technology focused on the monetization of hydrocarbons (especially natural gas and natural gas liquids) in ethylene and petrochemicals; ammonia, nitric acid and fertilizers; oil refining and gasification
- Hydrocarbons Services, including onshore oil and gas; LNG (liquefaction and regasification)/GTL; oil refining; petrochemicals; chemicals; fertilizers; differentiated EPC; maintenance services (Brown & Root Industrial Services); offshore oil and gas (shallow-water, deep-water, subsea); floating solutions (FPU, FPSO, FLNG & FSRU); program management and consulting services.

About Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.