ABB wins orders worth $80 million for one of Australia’s largest oil and gas developments

16-07-2012: ABB has won orders worth around $80 million to supply power technologies and medium-voltage drive systems for the new Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project’s processing plant near Darwin, Australia. The equipment will power the plant and control the compressors that liquefy the gas. Approximately half of the order value was booked at the end of the first quarter with follow through orders in the second quarter.

The Ichthys LNG project is a joint venture between INPEX (operator), Total, Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and Toho Gas and represents the second largest oil and gas development in Australia’s history.

Gas from the Ichthys Field, in the Browse Basin approximately 200 kilometers (km) off the coast of Western Australia, will undergo preliminary processing offshore to remove water and extract condensate. The gas will then be exported to onshore processing facilities in Darwin via an 889 km subsea pipeline. The Ichthys LNG project is expected to produce 8.4 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.

ABB’s equipment will facilitate the main power supply for the onshore dual train LNG processing facility and control the compressors that liquefy the gas collected from the offshore field. ABB will design and deliver a power supply solution for the LNG processing facility, including supply of key equipment such as power and distribution transformers, medium-voltage switchgear, low-voltage motor control centers (MCC), and a power distribution monitoring and control system.

Six medium-voltage variable-speed drive systems, including synchronous 2-pole motors rated at 20 megawatt (MW) and 3,600 revolutions per minute (rpm), and two medium-voltage variable-speed drive systems, including induction motors, rated 3.2 MW will be installed to help process the LNG, together with converter transformers.