JGC and its joint venture partners Halliburton Australia, Hatch-Kaiser Engineering, and Clough Engineering have been awarded the contract for construction of a fourth train planned by NWS Unincorporated JV for the Woodside LNG plant. The train's production capacity is 4.2 million ton/year and will position the LNG plant among the world's largest. The construction site is located in Karratha, Western Australia. The venture is to provide engineering, procurement, construction, and management services. JGC's share of the reimbursable EPCM contract is approximately 30 billion yen.

Planning for the project fell behind schedule with a downturn in the economy brought on by the Asian economic crisis, which created uncertainty in the region's LNG market. However, on receiving assurances of long-term demand from Japanese buyers, NWS Unincorporated JV, owner of the gas fields and the plant, decided to go ahead with the expansion project and invest in a fourth train.

Since last September, the JGC group has been carrying out Phase 1 of the EPCM project. When the go-ahead decision was made, a contract for Phase 2 of the EPCM project was signed between the group and the client.

The expansion site is located within the existing Woodside LNG plant at Karratha, Western Australia. The venture was responsible for constructing the first, second and third trains. About 7,000 jobs were created during the construction period. Moreover, equipment and materials were procured locally. It is certain that these projects have given the Australian economy a positive boost.