Pluto Train 2 Accommodation Village

Smart infrastructure design to support 2,500-person LNG workers accommodation village

Client: Woodside (via Bechtel, ATCO and JDSI)
Location: Karratha, Western Australia / Ngarluma

The challenge

Woodside’s Pluto Train 2 project, part of the Scarborough Energy Project, required a fully serviced workers accommodation village for 2,500 workers. Spread across a constrained, rocky site, the development needed to meet both stringent performance expectations and potential future municipal takeover conditions, including a major constraint: no use of sewer pump stations.

Designs had to ensure all services, including sewer and water infrastructure, could operate within the site’s tight physical limits, shallow subsurface rock, and limited grading options — all while maintaining construction efficiency and compliance with local development regulations.

Karratha being a cyclonic region meant robust design consideration for emergency shelter, redundancy and resilience of services infrastructure to provide safe continued services to residents and meet the requirements of the region.

Our Approach

Lucid was engaged to deliver the external building services infrastructure, coordinating across multiple disciplines. We worked closely with JDSI, ATCO and Bechtel to ensure our services aligned with buildings, civil and construction methodologies. Key to our approach was leveraging our integrated service capabilities, especially in electrical, hydraulic, and fire systems, to optimise infrastructure performance while reducing duplication.

We carefully analysed the site’s natural slope and surface conditions, enabling a gravity-based sewer design without the need for lifting stations, and coordinated shared service corridors to streamline construction and future maintenance.

Solutions delivered

Hydraulic system design meeting both potable and fire requirements — avoiding duplication of infrastructure
Reduced-grade gravity sewer system — overcoming site slope and rock depth limitations
Three new gravity-fed sewer connections aligned to Water Corporation standards
Common infrastructure corridors for efficient electrical, communications, and water service routing
Performance-based design solution to meet Development Application requirements
Close coordination with key delivery partners to ensure seamless integration and delivery
Electrical (HV/LV), communications, digital engineering and fire protection design

Outcomes

Fully serviced 2,500-person village designed for long-term operational efficiency
Achieved performance compliance without sewer pump stations — unlocking long-term cost savings and regulatory approval
Reduced infrastructure duplication through smart integration of potable and fire water systems
Improved site coordination and construction efficiency through shared service corridors
Infrastructure future-proofed for potential handover to City of Karratha
Delivered under complex site conditions, enabling continued progress on one of WA’s major LNG developments

Better World Impact

Lucid’s role on Pluto Train 2 demonstrates how strategic engineering can unlock performance, sustainability and long-term community value , it has a life span to facilitate the construction of the new Pluto 2 Gas Train for Woodside. By turning constraints into coordinated design outcomes, we helped support a project that powers national energy needs, regional economic growth, and a safer, smarter approach to infrastructure delivery.

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