Duratec snags $76.5M in works from Woodside and Defence respectively – including spy network upgrade

Duratec Limited (ASX:DUR) is having a big day – it’s inked $76.5M in contract wins across two major jobs in one trading session.

The first contract comes from Australia’s largest oil and gas major and the second largest in the southern hemisphere – Woodside (ASX:WDS).

Duratec will be working on WDS’s King Bay Supply Base (KBSB) project where a wharf refurbishment underpins the scope of works awarded to DUR.

That job will see Duratec travelling up to the Pilbara; the KBSB is associated with Pilbara Ports and Woodside’s Pluto terminal.

Early-stage preparations are anticipated to kick off in November 2024 with commencement proper taking off in February of 2025. The company expects to be done by EOY.

The second – and larger contract – awarded to Duratec on Tuesday comes from none other than the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) in the Northern Territory (NT).

Duratec’s works will form part of “Project Phoenix.” That project sees the DoD aiming to overhaul its existing signals communication capabilities between remote military installations across Australia.

“The project will provide the required facilities and infrastructure upgrades to support the installation and sustainment of the new Enhanced Defence High Frequency Communications System capability across 15 different sites across Australia,” a Parliament document further elaborates.

Pine Gap is well known among Australian military watchers, but there are a litany of other sites far less well-recognised which effectively form part of the Five Eyes international intelligence network.

It is towards upkeep of that international network Duratec now finds itself undertaking likely high-confidentiality work.

With that said, Duratec has publicly reported it will be refurbishing buildings, upgrading transmission and receiver sites, installation of new fibre optics links, and the decommissioning of old tech on the way out the door.

This is Duratec’s largest contract to date and comes in the same moment of geopolitical history where Australia and its allies are all ramping up military spending broadly – both guns and rockets, and, bricks and mortar facilities.

“We are delighted to be working directly with Woodside as we execute Duratec’s wider business strategy to pursue diversification through investment in the Energy sector,” Duratec MD Chris Oates said.

“The [Defence] award demonstrates that the Company continues to be a trusted Defence partner, and we look forward to supporting [Defence] in delivering this significant project.”

DUR last traded at $1.25.