LNG

Oct 30 (LNGJ) - MODEC Inc. of Japan said it signed a contract with ConocoPhillips (Australia) to provide a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Barossa field, offshore northwest Australia that will supply the Darwin LNG plant. The Barossa FPSO is intended to produce gas and condensate from subsea wells supply Darwin via a gas pipeline.

   The Barossa FPSO is MODEC's largest Gas FPSO to date and will be able to export over 600 million standard cubic feet of gas per day as well as store up to 650,000 barrels of condensate for export. “It has been designed to withstand a 100-year cyclone event at a water depth of 260 metres and will be located some 300 kilometers northwest of Darwin,” said the company. The FPSO hull will be constructed in China at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) in the northeast Liaoning Province.

Australian LNG and energy company Santos said that the Barossa natural gas field joint venture aiming to supply backfill feed-gas for Darwin LNG has taken another step towards a final investment decision in early 2020 with the award of the gas pipeline contract.

May 9 (LNGJ) - Australian LNG operator Santos said its Barossa natural gas project offshore the northwest coast had strengthened its position as the leading candidate to extend the lifespan of the Darwin LNG export plant in the Northern Territory as the Adelaide-based company awarded the subsea production system contract for the gas field.

   “Following a competitive tender, Technip Oceania Pty Ltd was the successful bidder. The engineering, procurement and construction contract represents a commitment to long-lead items in advance of a final investment decision,” said Santos. The contract includes the engineering, design and fabrication of wellheads, manifolds and control systems as well as installation and commissioning assistance.

Santos, the Australian LNG plant operator and stakeholder, said it reached an agreement to align the company’s interests, under Santos operatorship across four exploration permits in the Bonaparte Basin offshore Northern Australia adjacent to large existing natural gas resources set to be developed for liquefaction and export.

Santos explained that its position in the Bonaparte Basin already includes an 11.5 percent interest in the Bayu-Undan gas-condensate field and in the onshore Darwin LNG plant, as well as having a 25 percent interest in the Barossa gas field.

A Barossa field project is currently in its front-end engineering and design stage and is the leading candidate to backfill the Darwin LNG export plant, operated by ConocoPhillips since 2006 in the Northern Territory and in which Santos is a shareholder.

Santos has signed an agreement with Beach Energy of Australia that will see the companies become 50-50 joint venture partners across four licences NT/P82, NT/P85, NT/P84 and WA-454-P. Santos will operate all four permits.

Santos added that the NT/P82 and NT/P85 permits are located immediately to the south of the Barossa project area, where Santos acquired the 4,347 square kilometres Bethany 3D seismic survey in 2018.

The other two permits are close to the Petrel, Tern and Frigate field complex in the Petrel sub-basin, where separate agreements with Europe-based Neptune Energy see Santos move to 100 percent operated interest in the Tern and Frigate fields and a 40.25 percent interest in the Petrel field, subject to final approvals.

“This alignment of equity and operatorship will allow for a more strategic approach to the next phase of exploration in the region,” said Santos Chief Executive Kevin Gallagher.

“It also reinforces Santos’ significant exploration and existing substantial resource position in offshore Northern Australia and is a good example of industry collaboration aimed at doing things smarter,” added Gallagher.

“We continue to chase material resource opportunities offshore Northern Australia to support our established infrastructure position at Darwin, with an eye to both export and domestic markets,” stated the CEO.

“The next step for these permits is to evaluate new and existing seismic data to build inventory and define potential targets for drilling within the next few years,” said Gallagher.

The CEO added that permits NT/P82 and NT/P85, which are located immediately south of our Barossa project, will be a key focus for this work.

The Barossa gas field development would extend the operating life of the Darwin LNG plant for more than 20 years.

The Darwin plant exports around 3.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from a single liquefaction Train to Japanese utilities Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Gas.

Australian LNG stakeholder Santos said it would concentrate on continuing to supply feed-gas to the Darwin LNG plant, operated by partner ConocoPhillips since 2006, as well as developing other Australian natural gas assets and expanding Papua New Guinea LNG output to meet rising Asian demand.

Santos, the Australian stakeholder in three Asia-Pacific LNG production plants, reported strong first-half revenue growth even as an earthquake in February shut the ExxonMobil-run Papua New Guinea plant and scheduled maintenance closed the Darwin facility, operated by ConocoPhillips.

Modec Inc., the Japanese energy engineering company that specializes in platforms, was awarded a contract by US major ConocoPhillips for the front-end engineering and design of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Barossa gas field offshore northwest Australia to provide feed-gas for the Darwin LNG plant.

Asia-Pacific LNG stakeholder Santos said it made further progress on the front-end engineering and design phase of the Barossa offshore project with the award of three major engineering contracts to continue supplying feed-gas to the Darwin LNG plant, operated by partner ConocoPhillips since 2006.

ConocoPhillips and its partners have received positive results from the two-well appraisal drilling campaign in the Barossa field, part of the Bonaparte Basin offshore Australia’s Northern Territory strengthening the field’s position as lead candidate to supply backfill gas to the Darwin LNG plant.