The Timor Sea-based FLNG project received federal environmental approval about 16 months ago, with GDF signalling at the time that FEED would start up in 2013 - with pre-FEED studies dating back to early 2011.

Moving forward to September last year, the GDF and Santos-owned Bonaparte JV (60:40) shifted the FEED-starting expectations to the March quarter of 2014 - their most recently missed project target.

While GDF chose not to discuss any reasons behind the delays, or to reconfirm the goal of first gas in 2019, the most important turning point for the project remains set for next year.

"The project is currently in the pre-front end engineering and design phase of development and is expected to enter FEED in 2014," Bonaparte project general manager Jean-Francois Letellier told ENP.

"Final investment decision is scheduled for 2015."

GDF has previously flagged that the FEED contract is a contest between an alliance of Kellogg Brown & Root and Hyundai Heavy Industries and a Technip and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering venture.

Last year GDF awarded Wood Group Kenny a pre-FEED phase subsea concept definition study contract for the Bonaparte project while its most recently tendered Bonaparte work package, for geotechnical & geophysical site investigation, closed to offers earlier this month.

The proposed FLNG vessel was envisioned to be 400m long and 70m wide last year, and is targeting 2.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG capacity.

The vessel will source gas from the Petrel, Frigate and Tern fields in the Bonaparte Basin about 250km west of Darwin.

GDF did not shed any more light on possible capital expenditure estimates, or discuss the main challenges the project JV faces to achieving a successful FID outcome.