OREANDA-NEWS. Woodside today signed a five-year charter contract with Norwegian company Siem Offshore Australia Pty Ltd — an agreement that delivers Australia its first LNG-powered marine support vessel in 2017.

Woodside Chief Operations Officer Mike Utsler said the announcement positioned the company as an early adopter of LNG as a marine fuel in the region.

“We’re thrilled to be the first company to bring one of these vessels to the southern hemisphere. Australia is on track to become the world’s largest producer of LNG, so it makes perfect sense to build dual-fuel capabilities for our marine fleets here.

“Our LNG tankers use their cargo to power their engines, making them cleaner vessels that use less diesel. It’s natural that we progress this capability through to our support vessels,” he said.

Woodside’s new vessel will be greener — reducing vessel greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions and the reliance on imported diesel — while providing safe, reliable support to Woodside’s assets in the Exmouth and Pilbara regions.

Woodside will continue to seek to expand the application of LNG-fueling in transportation in WA. Dualfuel has an exciting future as it can be used to power a wide range of vessels.

About Woodside.

Woodside is Australia’s most experienced liquefied natural gas (LNG) operator and largest independent oil and gas company. Our producing LNG assets in the north-west of Australia are among the world’s best facilities and are characterised by strong safety and environmental performance in remote and challenging locations.

Today, our exploration portfolio includes emerging and frontier provinces in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, the Atlantic margins and Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. We have significant equity interests in high-quality development opportunities. Our proven track record and distinctive capabilities are underpinned by more than 60 years of experience, making us a partner of choice.

About Siem Offshore Australia Pty.

Siem Offshore Inc. serves the global oil and gas industry with a modern, environmentally friendly and technically advanced fleet. The company’s fleet consists of 54 vessels — with a focus on low fuel consumption. Eight new vessels are under construction. The fleet includes large Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels, Platform Supply Vessels, Multipurpose field & ROV Support Vessels and Offshore Subsea Construction Vessels designed to meet the most challenging environments. The latest addition to the fleet is two Well-Intervention Vessels.

Siem Offshore operates from Norway (Kristiansand), and has offices in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Macaé and Aracaju), Germany (Leer), The Netherlands (Groningen), Poland (Gdynia), USA (Houston), Ghana (Accra), India (Mumbai) and Australia (Perth).