The Ichthys LNG Project

by Michelle Goldsmith

The Ichthys LNG Project is a large scale LNG project to develop the Ichthys Gas Field, discovered during 2000-2001 off the North-West Coast of Western Australia, approximately 820 kilometres South-West of Darwin.

It is estimated that the field, named for the classical Greek word for ‘fish’, has the potential to produce 12.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 527 million barrels of condensate over 40 years. The projects initial capacity is estimated at 8.4 million tonnes of LNG per annum and 1.6 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per annum, as well as approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.

The project is a Joint Venture between the operator INPEX group companies, its major partner TOTAL group companies and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas.

It is currently in the construction phase with various contracts having been awarded, to both Australian and international contractors.

Offshore

Gas from the Ichthys Field will undergo preliminary processing at the offshore central processing facility (CPF). Here water and raw liquids, including a large proportion of the condensate, will be removed. This condensate will be pumped to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility anchored nearby, from which it will be transferred to tankers for delivery to markets.

Key offshore facilities will include:

Semi-submersible Central Processing Facility (CPF)

Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit for condensate treatment and storage

Umbilicals, risers and flowlines (URF)

885km export pipeline to Darwin

Onshore

The gas will be transported from the CPF by being pumped through a subsea pipeline more than 885 kilometres long to reach the onshore LNG processing plant proposed for Blaydin Point on Middle Arm Peninsula, Darwin, Northern Territory. There it will be cooled to below minus 161 degrees Celsius, the point at which the gas becomes a liquid, known as liquefied natural gas.

Onshore facilities will include:

• Two LNG trains with a capacity of 8.4 million tonnes per annum

• LPG and condensate processing plants

• Storage tanks for LNG, LPG and condensate

• Administration facilities

• Utilities and services

• Power generation infrastructure

• Product offloading jetty

Processing and transporting large amounts of gas 885km to shore can’t happen without pumps.  Therefore both offshore and onshore facilities will utilise an array of different pumps for different applications. A large number of pump supply and installation contracts have already been awarded. While many contracts were awarded to overseas companies, some Australian-based businesses have also been successful.

Offshore Pumps

Firewater Pumps

The contract for the design, manufacture, testing, supply and integration of four firewater pump packages for the offshore floating central gas processing facility has been awarded to Norwegian pump manufacturer, Frank Mohn Flatoy AS.

Diaphragm Pumps

INPEX has awarded a contract for the design, manufacture, quality control, factory tests, supply and shipment of diaphragm pumps for the offshore Central Processing Facility to Dongil ENT (Korea).

Centrifugal Pumps

The offshore facility’s 54 centrifugal pumps will be supplied by Finder Pompe (Italy).

API 610 Pumps 

The contract to supply 69 pumps to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering for installation on the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel has been awarded to Sulzer Pumps South Korea.

Onshore Pumps

Centrifugal Pumps

INPEX has awarded the contact for offshore centrifugal pumps to KSB’s Australian branch. This contract involves the design, manufacture, testing and delivery of centrifugal pump systems for the 500 megawatt of electrical power demand Combined Cycle Power Plant for the onshore Liquefied Natural Gas facility at Blaydin Point, Darwin.

Closed Cooling Pumps

KSB has also been contracted for the design, manufacture, testing, and delivery of horizontal end suction pumps to cool water for the Combined Cycle Power Plant at the same onshore facility at Blaydin Point, Darwin.

Liquid Handled:  Closed Cooling Water Pumping

Temp:  5° – 46°C

Max Vapor Pressure:  12.3 kPA

Casing:  Cast Iron

Design Capacity:  268 – 500 m³/hr

Duty:  Continuous

Pump Type:  Centrifugal

Class of Pump:  Horizontal End Suction

Condensate Pumps

The contract for the design, manufacture, testing, and delivery of vertical pumps to pump condensate through the condensate system at the Combined Cycle Power Plant has been awarded to Japanese supplier Shan Nippon.

Boiler Feed Water Pumps

Multi-stage centrifugal pumps for the boiler feed water service of the onshore facility will be supplied by Tokyo based company, Ebara.

API610 Horizontal Pumps (large capacity)

The contract for large capacity API610 horizontal pumps has been awarded to Tokyo based company, Tatsumura Trading.

API610 Vertical Pumps

Tatsumura Trading will also supply vertical API610 pumps to the project.

Column Mount Submerged Cryogenic Pumps

Column Mount submerged cryogenic pumps will also be supplied to the onshore facilities by Tatsumura Trading.

Pot Mount Submerged Cryogenic Pumps

The contract for submerged motor cryogenic pumps for the onshore facility has also been awarded to Tatsumura.

API610 Vertical Sump Pumps

Vertical sump pumps for the onshore facility will be provided by JGC Trading and Services, part of Shin Nippon Machinery.

API610 Horizontal Pumps

The contract for API610 pumps of regular capacity has gone to multinational pump company, Flowserve.

Fire Water Pumps

Firewater pumps for the onshore plant will be provided by Peerless Pump, an American company.

Canned Pumps

Japan based company, Nikkiso Co. have been awarded the contract for the facility’s canned pumps.

Sundyne Pumps

INPEX has also awarded the contract for Sundyne pumps to Nikkiso Co.

Non API horizontal and vertical pumps

The contracts for both horizontal and vertical non API pumps have been awarded to Flowserve GB.

Vertical Progress Cavity Pumps

The vertical progress cavity pumps for the onshore facility will be provided by UK based Mono Pumps Ltd.

Sanitary Pumps

Ruhrpump Australia has been contracted to provide the design, manufacturing and testing of 18 sewage system pit pumps for the onshore facility. Twelve of the submerged motor sewage pumps will have a capacity of 14 m3 and a head of 19 m and six will have a capacity of 25 m3 and a head of 27 m.

Note: this article has been updated since printing to reflect some more recent changes.

Find LNG Related Companies In The Pump Industry Capability Guide