Oil giant Woodside Petroleum Ltd
(ASX:WPL) has completed its review of the cost and schedule of the Pluto foundation project.
The company says the project is 82% complete and remains on schedule to deliver first gas from the Pluto field at the end of 2010 and first liquefied natural gas in early 2011.
Woodside says the final cost of the project is expected to be 6% to 10% over the $11.2 billion approved by Woodside at the time of the final investment decision in July 2007.
The company says the expected increase in cost is due to lower than budgeted productivity in both onshore and offshore construction.
The Pluto LNG Project, located west of Karratha in Western Australia, is underpinned by 15 year sales agreements with Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas.
Woodside Petroleum posted a profit of $1.8 billion in 2008 its bets in five years.
