Detailed engineering studies for the %$5 billion Pluto project will begin within four months, with a final investment decision scheduled for 2007.

Browse will proceed on the basis of satisfying north Asia demand from 2013.

Woodside managing director Don Voelte said Pluto was aimed at a window of opportunity that would be open in the first half of the next decade, and customers were already “beating a path to our door”. Its production would probably serve both Asian and North American markets, he said.

Development options for Pluto include an offshore production platform, an offshore trunkline and up to two LNG processing trains.

The Pluto infrastructure could also be used to develop nearby gas discoveries such as Chevron’s Wheatstone find and Santos and Apache-owned fields, according to Woodside exploration head Agu Kantsler.