Boskalis snatches Scarborough pipeline job

Dutch dredging company Boskalis has been awarded the contract for the seabed intervention and shore crossing activities for Woodside’s proposed Scarborough export gas pipeline in northwest Australia.

The contract awarded by Woodside Energy, the operator of the Scarborough joint venture, potentially carries a value of €145 million ($161.5 million) if all options are called and is subject to a final investment decision which is expected in 2020.

The preparatory activities for this multidisciplinary project have commenced recently, Boskalis said in its statement.

The seabed intervention and shore crossing works are scheduled to start in March 2021 with an expected completion mid-2022.

The scope of activities includes the pre-trenching of the nearshore pipeline route along a 50 kilometers section, offshore deepwater excavation works, pre-lay and post-lay rock installation for pipeline and fiber optic cable crossings, the post-installation burial and other protection works to ensure the stability of the pipeline.

Support for the shore crossing to the onshore processing facility on the Burrup Peninsula as well as rock supply are also part of the contract.

Boskalis will deploy a wide variety of its in-house specialist expertise and equipment including a trailing suction hopper dredger, a backhoe dredger, a dynamically positioned fallpipe vessel and rock installation vessel, survey vessels and an offshore construction vessel.

The Scarborough gas field is situated approximately 375 kilometers offshore the Burrup Peninsula in northwest Australia. The proposed export pipeline will transport natural gas between the Scarborough floating production unit and the onshore processing plant.

Woodside’s preferred development option is to process the Scarborough gas through a brownfield expansion of Pluto LNG.