Australia: Gladstone Western Basin Dredging Project Awarded to JV Van Oord – DEME

Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd and Dredging International (Australia) Pty Ltd have been awarded the second contract for the Western Basin Main Works Dredging at the Port of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. This second contract signed on the 12th May 2011 with the Gladstone Ports Corporation involves the dredging of Parcels 1, 3 and 4 for the Western Basin Development. The value of this contract is EUR 415 million (AUD 545 million). The first contract for the same Western Basin Development and signed on the 4th March 2011, involved the works contained in Parcel 5 to the sum of AUD 260 million (EUR 190 million).

Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd is part of the Dutch, Rotterdam based, dredging and offshore contractor Van Oord. Dredging International (Australia) is part of the Belgian dredging, environmental and hydraulic engineering Group DEME.

The works under Parcels 1, 3 and 4 of the Western Basin Development project includes the dredging of various channels, swing basins and bypass channels to – 13 m LAT for the access to the various berth pockets, embarkation docks and material offloading facilities. A total volume of 18.5 million m3 will be dredged, of which about 2 million m3 will be disposed of at the East Bank Spoil Ground, at a sailing distance of 45 km, and 16.5 million m3 will be pumped ashore at the Western Basin reclamation area to create a new port area for the Port of Gladstone adjacent to the existing Fisherman’s Landing reclamation area.

The actual dredging works will start after the completion of the first contract (Parcel 5) in March 2012 and will be completed in December 2014. A heavy-duty Cutter Suction Dredger with floating booster stations and a large Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger will be deployed to execute this important dredging assignment.

Special attention will be given to the Environmental Management and the Management of the Possible Acid Sulphate Soil in the reclamation area. All environmental and dredging plans are verified and permits are in place.

The dredging of the Western Basin Dredging Project will facilitate the export of the LNG produced at the facilities under construction in Gladstone. Within the largest LNG scheme in Australia, Coal Seam Gas (coal bed methane), produced in the Surat and Bowen basins in eastern Queensland, will be transported by pipeline over 450 km to the gas liquefaction plants on Curtis Island in Gladstone for conversion into LNG. The formal funding parties for these facilities are QCLNG (BG Group), APLNG (Origin and ConocoPhillips), GLNG (Santos, PETRONAS, Total and KOGAS) and Arrow CSG (Arrow Energy).

This AUD 1.3 billion (EUR 985 million) development of the Western Basin area will expand the footprint of Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port and will make the Port of Gladstone one of the largest ports in Australia.

About Van Oord

Van Oord is a leading international contractor specialising in dredging, marine engineering and offshore projects for the oil, gas and wind-related industries and an innovative partner for its clients. For more than a century Van Oord has been working to create the marine engineering world of tomorrow. Van Oord is a family business with its head office in Rotterdam and a network of offices around the world. Each year Van Oord employs 4,600 people on more than two hundred projects in fifty countries.

The growing world population needs more space and the demand for energy is increasing constantly. The rising volume of world trade requires more and better port facilities and climate change is threatening low-lying coastal areas. Van Oord provides innovative solutions, from design to delivery. Visible leadership, long-term vision and sound financing are what define Van Oord. Its ongoing investments in manpower and equipment are made with great care, because continuity constitutes the foundation of its ability to do business.

About DEME

The Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME was established in 1991 from the merger between Dredging International and Baggerwerken Decloedt. A global market leader, the Group diversified from dredging operations and reclamation to hydraulic engineering projects at sea, services to the oil and gas companies, wreck clearance, installation of offshore wind farms and environmental activities such as soil remediation, sludge recycling and revalidation of brownfields. The Group owns one of the most up-to-date, highly technological and versatile fleets for dredging and hydraulic engineering, with vessels and ships of all sizes and for any operational area. DEME employs more than 4,000 people, The Flemish Group is implementing more than 70 projects simultaneously in over 50 countries around the world. Its current investment programme in high-tech equipment enables DEME to meet future challenges with an ultra-efficient and modern fleet.

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Source: deme, May 13, 2011;