Australian energy producer Woodside has started front-end engineering design (FEED) activities on a hydrogen project for the first time, awarding a contract in late December for FEED engineering services to Kellogg, Brown & Root LLC (KBR) for its proposed H2OK project in Oklahoma, USA.
H2OK is a liquid hydrogen production facility proposed for the Westport Industrial Park in Ardmore, with phase one involving construction of an initial 290-megawatt facility that can produce up to 90 tonnes a day of liquid hydrogen through electrolysis.
The facility will target the heavy transport sector and its location offers the capacity for expansion up to 550 megawatts and 180 tonnes per day.
The FEED phase is a significant project development milestone, triggering a series of activities that further mature the project scope, cost, and schedule to the level required to make a final investment decision.
Woodside is targeting a final investment decision in the second half of 2022, and first liquid hydrogen production 2025.
Woodside chief executive officer Meg O’Neill said that new energy projects like H2OK have the potential to create significant value for shareholders, as Woodside looks to diversify product offerings to customers in support of their decarbonisation goals.
She continued: “We are excited about the H2OK opportunity, given H2OK’s strategic location close to national highways and the supply chain infrastructure of major companies already looking for reliable, affordable, and lower carbon sources of energy.
“Coupled with our recently annou8nced target to invest US$5 billion in new energy products and lower carbon services by 2030, this FEED entry supports Woodside’s strategy to thrive through the energy transition.”
Initiating FEED for H2OK follows a series of recent announcements about Woodside’s expanding new energy interests in the US, including a memorandum of understanding with Hyzon Motors and a collaboration with renewable energy technology company Heliogen.
