Clough's Troubles Could Roil Major Mining, LNG Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A swath of energy, mining and rail-transportation projects across the globe were facing uncertain futures after Clough Group (Perth, Australia) was placed into voluntary administration. Its parent company, Murray & Roberts Holdings Limited (Bedfordview, South Africa), failed to secure an anticipated deal to sell Clough, which then appointed administrators from Deloitte (London, England) to find a buyer and limit any financial impact. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$33 billion worth of projects involving Clough's services.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active projects involving Clough's services worldwide, by industry sector.

Last month, Murray & Roberts attempted to unload its stake in Clough through a AU$350 million (US$235 million) sale and purchase agreement with Webuild SpA (Milan, Italy), which has partnered with Clough on several major projects. But the deal collapsed after Webuild decided not to provide Murray & Roberts with an interim loan of more than AU$20 million (US$13 million), which would have buoyed Clough until the sale was finalized.

Clough and Webuild are collaborating on one of the largest and most widely anticipated energy projects in Australia: the Snowy 2.0 Pumped-Storage Hydro Plant in Talbingo, New South Wales, about 30 miles west of the Australian Capital Territory. Owned and managed by the government-owned Snowy Hydro Limited, the project involves building a new, US$5.12 billion underground power station and US$20.5 million worth of water tunnels and tailraces to link two existing dams, Tantangara and Talbingo. It is the largest committed renewable energy project in Australia, according to Snowy Hydro Limited.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read detailed project reports on the underground power station and tunnels, as well as new transmission lines and substations.

A recent report in the Australian Financial Review cited "delays and cost blow-outs" on the Snowy 2.0 project as some of the major problems facing Clough, along with delayed payments and supply-chain disruptions. A Murray & Roberts spokesperson told reporters that Clough and Deloitte will continue to work on Snowy 2.0.

Another major, multi-phase project that could be affected is the Waitsia Stage 2 Gas Project, headed by a 50:50 venture between Mitsui & Company Limited (Tokyo, Japan) and Beach Energy Limited (Adelaide, South Australia). Clough secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project in early 2021, and the project's owners finalized a deal in August to supply about 3.75 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a unit of BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England).

"Beach and Mitsui E&P Australia, its joint venture partner and Waitsia's operator, will work closely with the administrator, contractors and stakeholders to ensure continued progress of the 250 terajoule-per-day Waitsia Stage 2 gas plant," Beach said in a press release following Clough's announcement. The capacity also can be measured as 235 million standard cubic feet per day of gas.

Construction on the US$548 million gas-processing plant started in mid-2021, along with US$54.8 million in gas- and condensate-gathering pipelines and a series of gas-gathering stations. Subscribers can read a detailed project report on the gas plant and click here for a list of detailed reports on projects related to Waitsia Stage 2.

One of the largest projects involving Clough outside Australia is Rio Tinto plc's (NYSE:RIO) (London) US$5.3 billion copper and gold mine in Dalan Dzadgad, Mongolia, for which Clough is developing two of the five planned vertical mining shafts. The additions are expected to expand the mine's copper output from 330,000 to 430,000 tons per year. Construction started in early 2018. Subscribers can read more in a detailed project report.

Clough also is building a large trestle system for LNG Canada's Kitimat LNG Liquefaction Plant in British Columbia. The structure will allow the new facility to convert and export 26 million tons of LNG per year, primarily to Asia. Subscribers can read more in a detailed project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active projects involving Clough's services.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).