Browse FLNG Terminal

From Global Energy Monitor
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Browse FLNG Terminal is a proposed floating LNG terminal in Western Australia, Australia.

Location

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Project Details

  • Operator: Woodside Energy[1]
  • Owner: Woodside Energy (30.6%), BP (44.33%), Japan Australia LNG Pty Ltd (MiMi)(14.4%), PetroChina (10.67%)[1][2]
  • Parent company: Woodside Energy (30.6%), BP (44.33%), Mitsubishi (7.2%), Mitsui (7.2%), PetroChina (10.67%)
  • Vessel:
  • Vessel operator:
  • Vessel owner:
  • Vessel parent company:
  • Location: Broome, Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia
  • Coordinates: -17.961944, 122.236111 (approximate)
  • Capacity: 11.4 mtpa total[3]
  • Trains: 2[3]
  • Status: Proposed[4]
  • Type: Export
  • Start year: 2023[5]
  • Cost: US$20.5 billion[6]
  • Financing:
  • FID status: pre-FID[4]
  • Associated infrastructure:

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Browse FLNG Terminal is a proposed LNG terminal in the Dampier Peninsula, in Kimberley, Western Australia.[7]

The terminal is proposed for construction at James Price Point, 52 kilometres (32 mi) North of Broome on the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia.[8] The onshore project was abandoned after Australia's rising gas costs made the project unviable. In 2013 the project was to be developed as a floating LNG facility with minimal construction work to be undertaken in Australia.[9]

The Browse FLNG partners put the $30 billion Browse floating LNG project on hold in 2016.[10] In April 2019 it was reported that Woodside had revived the proposal and planned to complete the terminal by 2023.[5] In February 2020, it was reported that the final investment decision (FID) for the now estimated US$20.5 billion project was being pushed out to late 2021 having previously been foreseen for late 2020.[11] The implications of the March 2020 collapse in oil prices lead a senior executive of Woodside Petroleum to concede to reporters that the company was taking a "real hard look" at the prospects for its business, prompting further speculation that the company could be reconsidering its plans to go ahead with the Browse LNG terminal project as well as its proposed Scarborough LNG Terminal.[6]

In March 2020, Woodside announced that it was delaying the FID for the Browse FLNG Terminal as part of a package of spending cutbacks estimated at US$32 billion it had been compelled to make owing to its plunging stock-market value brought about by turmoil in the oil and gas markets which has been exacerbated by the global coronavirus pandemic.[12]

In April 2021, The Australian Financial Review reported that Woodside's troubled Scarborough LNG Terminal may reach FID in the second half of 2021 and that FID on the Browse project was still possible, if less likely.[4]

In April 2023, Woodside's CEO said to Reuters that talks with the owners of the North West Shelf LNG Terminal over a Browse gas processing deal were underway again after a pause during the pandemic.[13] The same month, Shell signed an agreement to sell BP its 27% stake in the Browse gas project.[14]

In November 2023, Shell has completed the sale of its 27% stake to BP.[2]

In March 2024, it was reported that front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase remained in limbo as high capital costs and project complexities persist, making it unlikely that the project would enter the FEED phase this year.[15]

In April 2024, however, it was reported that Woodside was performing pre-FEED engineering work in Norway on the two floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSO).[16]

Opposition

Several Aboriginal groups claim ownership over the Dampier Peninsula including the Goolarabooloo, Jabirr Jabirr, Ngumbarl, Nimanbur, and Nyul Nyul.[17]

In 2011 the Jabirr Jabirr negotiated the Browse LNG land access agreements with the Woodside owners and the Western Australian government. The Jabirr Jabirr leaders argued that these agreements $1.5 billion worth of benefits were desperately needed for the Kimberley Aboriginal people. Goolarabooloo family oppose building the LNG and held a series of rallies alongside non Aboriginal environmentalists.[17]

Articles and resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lewis (j_lewis), Josh (2020-03-27). "Sequestration on the cards for Browse LNG development | Upstream Online". Upstream Online | Latest oil and gas news. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Shell, BP wrap up Browse stake sale". LNG Prime. Nov 21, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Browse - Woodside Energy". Woodside. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jennifer Hewett, Peter Coleman calls time on big new LNG projects, The Australian Financial Review, Apr 23, 2021
  5. 5.0 5.1 10 biggest upcoming Oil & Gas developments in Australia, engineeringpro, Apr. 10, 2019
  6. 6.0 6.1 Woodside's 'hard look' casts more doubt on LNG projects, The Australian Financial Review, Mar. 11, 2020
  7. Browse LNG Terminal, Wikipedia, accessed April 2017
  8. "Browse LNG". Woodside Petroleum. Archived from the original on 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2012-12-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)
  9. "Woodside Petroleum Cancels Onshore L.N.G. Project in Australia". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
  10. "2017 World LNG Report" International Gas Union, Accessed June 20, 2017.
  11. Woodside Pushes Back Browse FID Again, Offshore Engineer, Feb. 14, 2020
  12. $32 Billion In Australian Oil And Gas Work Deferred Till Markets Improve, Forbes, Mar. 27, 2020
  13. Reuters. Woodside's stalled Browse LNG project still 'very attractive' -CEO. April 20, 2023.
  14. "Shell Is Selling Its Stake in Australian Gas Project to BP - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  15. "Confidence waning in Australia's next major LNG project investment". Upstream Online. Mar 20, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "Woodside keeps dream alive for Australian megaproject with fresh FPSO work". Upstream Online. Apr 30, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. 17.0 17.1 The biggest threat to culture is not an LNG plant: the real battle for James Price Point, The Guardian, January 1, 2017.

Related GEM.wiki articles

External resources

External articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Browse LNG Terminal. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.