John Holland Lands Another Wheatstone Contract (Australia)

John Holland has secured another key contract with Bechtel Australia Pty Ltd on the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project near Onslow on Western Australia’s Pilbara coast.

With an approximate contract value of $240 million, John Holland will design and construct a package of 12 permanent buildings essential to the operation of the onshore gas processing facilities, including an operations building, laboratory, maintenance centre, vehicle maintenance shop, fire station and plant warehouse. Six other smaller ancillary buildings will also be constructed.

John Holland Group Managing Director, Glenn Palin, said: “We are pleased to have won this work on the back of the contract to design and build the Wheatstone accommodation village announced earlier this month.

“This new contract will enable us to build on the already strong relationship we have established with Chevron through the work we are delivering on Gorgon and through the bid phases for both Wheatstone projects,” Mr Palin said.

John Holland General Manager, Western Region, Adam Harry, said the timing of the Wheatstone permanent buildings will enable John Holland to deliver additional benefits to Bechtel and Chevron.

“There are synergies to be gained by the concurrent delivery of the accommodation village and permanent buildings on Wheatstone, as well as work on non-process infrastructure on the Gorgon project. We will be looking to move people from our Gorgon contract, which has similarities to the permanent buildings work, and tap into this experience on Wheatstone,” Mr Harry said.

About 340 direct jobs will be created for the permanent buildings work. Local suppliers and specialist contractors will have the opportunity to provide goods and services. The John Holland bid team included several specialist Western Australian businesses including architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire, geotechnical and hydraulic consultancies.

The employment strategy for the project will also create employment opportunities for people in the region, including apprenticeships and traineeships, and provide economic development opportunities for local Indigenous people.

The Wheatstone Project involves the construction of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains and a domestic gas plant 12 km west of the coastal town of Onslow. Gas will be transported via a pipeline from an offshore processing platform 225 km off the coast to the onshore facilities. First LNG shipments are planned for 2016.

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LNG World News Staff, December 22, 2011; Image: Chevron