GDF SUEZ and Santos Ltd. in August 2009 formed a joint venture to develop and operate a floating liquefaction project in Australia's Bonaparte Basin. GDF SUEZ owns a 60-percent stake in the JV, GDF SUEZ Bonaparte, and Santos holds the remaining 40 percent.

The proposed project would liquefy stranded natural gas produced from the Petrel, Tern, and Frigate fields in the Timor Sea, 250 kilometers west of the northern Australian city of Darwin. The floating liquefaction plant would produce 2 million tons of LNG per annum.

GDF SUEZ Bonaparte announced in January 2011 that it has awarded the pre-front end engineering and design (pre-FEED) contracts to the engineering and energy project management consultancies Granherne (upstream), a unit of KBR, and DORIS Engineering (midstream).

The JV expects to make its final investment decision for the project in 2014. Should it go ahead with the proposal, LNG production could begin in 2018.