The state government has committed $5 million towards feasibility and planning studies for a marine common use facility (CUF) in the Pilbara, likely to be at either Anketell or Lumsden Point.
The study follows on from a previous one completed in April last year by AMC Management Pty Ltd, which considered a number of sites and established the need for a CUF in the Pilbara.
The proposed CUF would be modelled on the successful facility at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, which opened in 2003. The proposed facility would potentially include wharves, lifting lay-down areas, repair and maintenance and load-out facilities.
“Upcoming major resources projects will require this type of infrastructure for subsea installation and ongoing inspection, maintenance and repair work for more than 30 years,” commerce minister Simon O’Brien said.
Regional development minister Brendon Grylls said the facility would be a vital piece of infrastructure that could help develop other industries in the region, including housing, construction and possibly defence and paramilitary support sectors, helping to broaden employment opportunities in the region.
Currently the only similar facility in the Pilbara is a supply base operated by Mermaid Marine Australia at Dampier Port, which serves a number of offshore oil and gas facilities. The Dampier Port Authority is also planning to build some similar facilities in the near future.
Dampier was strongly considered in the AMC study but ruled out because of congestion and the limited land available for expansion.
Instead, Anketell and Lumsden Point, near Port Hedland, were shortlisted as the most suitable sites because they were still in the planning phase and could easily integrate a CUF.
The AMC report had highlighted that there was an immediate need for such a facility in the north-west. It should be made available by 2015 in order to capitalise on the strong growth in offshore oil and gas projects in the region.
The report also noted there was also a concern among stakeholders that the lack of a facility in the region could see more work transferred to other locations in the region, including Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, where government policies were encouraging the growth of marine support services.
