Woodside Charters Australia's First LNG-Powered Support Vessel

Woodside has signed a five-year charter contract with Norwegian company Siem Offshore Australia—an agreement that delivers Australia its first LNG-powered marine support vessel in 2017. The deal positions Woodside 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,” said Woodside COO Mike Utsler. “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.”

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 says it will continue to seek to expand the application of LNG-fueling in transportation.