Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Opinion: Martin Pritchard on Woodside’s future plans
Martin Pritchard
Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard has an interesting view on Woodside’s plans to develop its Browse Basin gas.
Mr Pritchard says he suspects the company is stalling its “final investment decision” because it will run out of gas to process at its Pilbara gas hub.
You can read his statement here:
Woodside don’t have gas to process at Pluto so they have to delay any decision to build more processing ‘trains’. Their latest discoveries (see below) are 500km off the coast.
Browse is 880km away and according to Woodside’s Joint Venture partners and financial analysts it would be cheaper to pipe to the Pilbara to process than to build a new industrial area at James Price Point.
Eventually the number crunchers in Woodside will realise that economically they will have to go to the Pilbara, especially since there will likely be significant delays due to legal proceedings as well as a continuing campaign from the community.
JP Morgan, a large US finance firm’s analysis (December 2009) of two options, James Price Point versus the Pilbara, stated that it would be cheaper for JV partners to pipe to the Pilbara and that this option would take 3 years longer to begin producing LNG. According to the report a Final Investment Decision on a James Price Point option in mid 2012 would most likely see first production in 2017, the Pilbara option would not see production occur until 2020.
Why would we turn the Kimberley and Broome into a mining region and town for the sake of 3 years?
Woodside have stated that they want certainty of land tenure by April next year. If the Premier can’t deliver this, then one can only assume Woodside and its JV’s will be getting nervous and dusting the old pipeline maps off.
oodside don’t have gas to process at Pluto so they have to delay any decision to build more processing ‘trains’. Their latest discoveries (see below) are 500km off the coast.
Browse is 880km away and according to Woodside’s Joint Venture partners and financial analysts it would be cheaper to pipe to the Pilbara to process than to build a new industrial area at James Price Point.
Eventually the number crunchers in Woodside will realise that economically they will have to go to the Pilbara, especially since there will likely be significant delays due to legal proceedings as well as a continuing campaign from the community.
JP Morgan, a large US finance firm’s analysis (December 2009) of two options, James Price Point versus the Pilbara, stated that it would be cheaper for JV partners to pipe to the Pilbara and that this option would take 3 years longer to begin producing LNG. According to the report a Final Investment Decision on a James Price Point option in mid 2012 would most likely see first production in 2017, the Pilbara option would not see production occur until 2020.
Why would we turn the Kimberley and Broome into a mining region and town for the sake of 3 years?
Woodside have stated that they want certainty of land tenure by April next year. If the Premier can’t deliver this, then one can only assume Woodside and its JV’s will be getting nervous and dusting the old pipeline maps off.
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