INPEX and Shell have welcomed completion of Australia’s first purpose-built subsea internet cable for Australia’s northern offshore oil and gas industry.
Installed on the seabed between Darwin and Port Hedland, the 2100 kilometre North West Cable System (NWCS) provides offshore oil and gas facilities in the Browse, Bonaparte and Carnarvon Basins with access to high-speed data and voice communication services for the life of their operations.
The NWCS will provide cutting-edge communications for the operational workforce on offshore facilities in the Ichthys and Prelude Fields, located up to 220 kilometres off the northern coast of Western Australia.
The cable system also delivers reliable communications for the first time to remote communities living in Australia’s northern and western regions through onshore connections to data centres and businesses throughout Australia.
Built, owned and operated by the Nextgen Group, the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project and Shell Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Project contributed to the construction costs of the NWCS.
Shell Australia’s vice president Prelude, David Bird, said the investment in the subsea optical fibre cable system with the Nextgen Group would deliver critical Australian public utility infrastructure.
“We are very proud of this partnership, not only will it make life better for our people and streamline our communications, but this is infrastructure that will provide real benefits in high quality communications to Northern Australia” he said.
“Harnessing the economic potential of Australia’s north is a key challenge for the Australian economy, and infrastructure investments like this optical fibre will assist the nation to foster new industries in remote locations.”
Ichthys Project Managing Director Louis Bon said the subsea cable provides a highly reliable voice and data service which is essential for the safe operation of modern offshore oil and gas facilities.
“This is a great achievement for the Ichthys LNG Project and an excellent example of what collaboration in the oil and gas industry can achieve.”