The contract, the company's second for the planned three-train LNG project, is expected to start after receipt of all government approvals and a final investment decision by the Gorgon partners.

Project scope includes preparation of finished earthwork levels for the LNG plant and associated storage tanks, the production of road base and feedstock for concrete aggregate production, reticulation of site services, a material offloading facilities causeway and its associated breakwater, as well as temporary construction facilities that will be used by later contractors.

Thiess said that it would use various Western Australian companies to supply specialist work packages, including the temporary facilities buildings.

The company is part of a consortium with Decmil Group and Kentz that won a $500 million contract to design and construct an accommodation village capable of housing 3300 people for the Gorgon project.

The Gorgon project consists of the development of the Gorgon and Io/Jansz fields, which will be linked by subsea pipelines to Barrow Island, where the three-train LNG plant - capable of producing 15 million tonnes of LNG per annum - will be located.

It will include a 300-terajoule per day domestic gas plant and pipeline to the mainland, as well as a carbon dioxide sequestration project aimed at storing the high levels of CO2 present in Gorgon gas in deep formations beneath Barrow Island.

The Gorgon partners are Chevron Australia (operator and 50%), Shell (25%) and ExxonMobil (25%).