LNG engineering firm Laing O’Rourke has withdrawn 800 of its workers from the Ichthys LNG storage tank project due to non-payment for its services over several months.
Partnering with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Laing O’Rourke has been involved in constructing four cryogenic tanks for the Inpex-operated $34 billion Ichthys LNG project under a contract signed in 2012 with the EPC contractor for JKC Australia LNG. Construction began on-site in mid-2013 and is currently in its final stages.
Laing O’Rourke asserts that KHI, leading this phase, has not compensated the company for its work on the project for an extended period.
“Laing O’Rourke has exerted significant efforts to resolve the matter, but direct engagements with KHI in Japan in recent weeks have yielded no satisfactory resolution,” stated the company.
Following a meeting in Tokyo last Thursday, Laing O’Rourke informed the involved parties that it would take measures to safeguard its interests against KHI’s actions unless immediate corrective actions were taken. However, KHI reportedly declined to address the issue adequately.
The engineering firm intends to redeploy its personnel to other company projects and provide assistance to subcontractors affected by the dispute.
Laing O’Rourke clarified that its other project on the Ichthys site, conducted directly for JKC, remains unaffected by the situation, according to the statement.
