Woodside Energy’s Scarborough Energy Project Reaches Major Engineering Milestone

Woodside Energy’s Scarborough energy project has achieved a major engineering milestone with the joining together of the topsides and hull for the Floating Production Unit (FPU).

Constructed separately at two different fabrication yards in China, the joining of the two mega-structures is a significant step forward for the Scarborough energy project as it progresses towards its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo, targeted for the second half of 2026.

Collaboration and Precision

The floatover required precise planning and extensive collaboration by all stakeholders. Teams from Woodside, McDermott, QMW, and COSCO worked closely on the fabrication of the structures and to safely bring them together.

The contract, awarded to McDermott in 2021, includes engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCIC) services for the Scarborough energy project’s FPU. McDermott is delivering design, fabrication, integration, transportation, and installation of an approximately 30,000-metric-ton topside and 37,000-metric-ton hull structure, making it the largest floating production facility the company has ever designed and built.

Key Features

The topsides have six deck levels, 169 core equipment units, including gas turbine-driven export gas compressors and main generators with waste heat recovery systems, more than 50,000 meters of piping, one million meters of cabling, 568 integrated subsystems, and a battery energy storage system for operational emissions reduction.

Installation and Integration

Earlier this month, both structures were transported offshore, and the topsides were installed onto the hull via floatover off the coast of Dalian, China. The FPU arrived at CIMC’s Raffles yard in Yantai, China, for final integration works before sailing to Western Australia for mooring at the Scarborough gas field.

Project Progress

According to Liz Westcott, Woodside’s Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Australia, the project is now over 82% complete. The Scarborough energy project is set to produce up to 8 million tonnes of LNG per year and contribute up to 225 terajoules a day of domestic gas supply into the Western Australian market.

Woodside and McDermott have provided images and video footage of the project’s progress, showcasing the engineering marvel of the FPU construction.