According to the statement, the tolling price is valid to 31 March 2020, and is complemented by a comprehensive, non-binding heads of agreement (HoA) on other tolling terms.
Woodside claims the toll is based on BHP maintaining no more than a 25% interest in Scarborough (WA-1-R) up to final investment decision (FID), subject to BHP’s standard pre-emption rights.
Woodside CEO, Peter Coleman, said: “This agreement on tolling price, together with the increase in Scarborough gas resources announced earlier this month, provides a compelling and aligned basis for BHP and Woodside to finalise the required conditional binding agreements by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
“It is a key milestone as we target a go-ahead for the development of the high-quality Scarborough gas resource through an expanded Pluto LNG facility. The joint venture is now in a strong position to proceed to FID in the first half of next year.”
According to the statement, Scarborough gas would initially be processed on a deep-water floating production unit and transported through an approximately 430 km pipeline to be processed at the Pluto LNG facility. First LNG from the proposed development is targeted in 2024.