Sparrows Group has secured a contract with Chevron Australia for work on the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas facilities in Western Australia.
The company will support the safety and reliability of Chevron’s onshore and offshore lifting operations by providing inspection and maintenance services for cranes and lifting equipment.
The contract award, which marks Sparrows’ first large contract in the Pilbara, will see the company hire local personnel including lifting engineers, mechanical and electrical technicians, rope access, inspectors and crane supervisors.
In addition, lifting and rigging equipment for operations will be supplied, inspected and maintained by Sparrows and delivered in accordance with Chevron’s safety requirements.
The Chevron-operated Wheatstone and Gorgon facilities are two of Australia’s largest resource developments and are among the world’s largest natural gas projects.
In July last year, Chevron outlined in a statement that it had been conducting planned maintenance at the Gorgon facility from May 23, with scheduled work mechanically complete.
Following a routine inspection of the Gorgon LNG Train 2, Chevron confirmed that propane heat exchangers identified weld quality issues.
Chevron further outlined in September that it received a revised remediation notice from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) for the inspection of propane exchangers on Gorgon LNG Trains 1 and 3.
In November last year, the company reported that it had recommenced production from Train 2 following the discovery of a weld quality issues in propane heat exchangers on Train 2 during scheduled maintenance in July.
Chevron begin repairs to propane heat exchangers on Gorgon LNG Train 1 in January. Johnson added that the reliability of Gorgon has been steadily increasing.
In March this year the company confirmed that Train 3 repairs were expected to start in the second quarter.
Sparrows chief executive officer Stewart Mitchell said the upkeep of maintenance and inspection is paramount for production facilities to ensure the safety of critical lifting operations.
“Australia is a key region for us, and it has huge potential given the importance of liquified natural gas as an energy transition fuel. Currently we are working on several LNG facilities across Australia, and we aim to expand the delivery of our specialist maintenance, repair, inspection and NDT services to our customers here,” he said.
“The Pilbara region is an important growth location for Sparrows and we are pleased to be able to reinvest in the local economy through the creation of job opportunities in the area.”