March 5 - Fairstar Heavy Transport has been awarded two contracts by the JKC Joint Venture (JKC) consisting of JGC and Chiyoda of Japan and KBR of the United States, to provide marine transportation services for the Ichthys LNG Project in Darwin, Australi
The two contracts will engage Fairstar's 50,000 dwt, open stern, semi-submersible vessels Forte and Finesse for approximately 12 months each from the second quarter of 2014.
The total value of the two contracts is USD56million for the initial period. JKC has the option to extend the contracts a further six months at the same voyage rates agreed to for the initial period. The options are not included in the original contract value.
Fairstar says that Forte and Finesse will execute a series of voyages from various fabrication yards in Asia Pacific, transporting the modules required to construct the two LNG trains now approved for development at the Ichthys LNG Project site in Darwin.
Philip Adkins, chief executive officer of Fairstar, commented from Yokohama Japan shortly after signing the contracts: "Fairstar will work closely with JKC to manage the safe and reliable delivery of the LNG modules for the Ichthys LNG Project and will be closely engaged with the JKC Project Team in Japan, preparing for the first voyage in 2014. Forte and Finesse are two of the most modern, open stern, semi-submersible ships in the world today. They have fully independent and redundant propulsion systems as well as a powerful ballast system capable of safely maintaining equilibrium at quayside throughout the extreme tidal cycle that will be a feature of discharge operations in Darwin.
"Fairstar has gained considerable experience in Australian quarantine and environmental practices through our involvement in the Gorgon LNG Project. Safety and environmental stewardship play a dominant role in all Australian energy infrastructure projects. Fairstar has invested heavily in the quality and experience of our team. We are committed to providing our clients with an integrated package of modern, purpose built vessels, experienced Dutch crews and dedicated project professionals. All of these resources will make a significant contribution to the Ichthys LNG Project and we are delighted to be awarded two multiple voyage contracts for the Forte and Finesse."
The Ichthys LNG Project is a joint venture between INPEX (76 percent, the operator) and Total (24 percent). Gas from the Ichthys Field, in the Browse Basin approximately 200 km offshore 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.
