BW Offshore reports progress on feed gas project for Darwin LNG and outlines future oil and gas strategy
BW Offshore is making progress on the Barossa natural gas floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) project for the Timor Sea as part of plans to prolong the lifespan of the Australian Darwin LNG export plant.
Santos of Australia outlines benefits of Darwin LNG acquisition as quarterly earnings rise
Australian LNG operator Santos, the buyer of the ConocoPhillips Darwin LNG stake and other US-owned assets in Australia’s Northern Territory, said the acquisition was a great boost for the Adelaide-based company as it posted a rise in third-quarter revenues.
Barossa feed-gas 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 boosts exploration permit interests in Bonaparte Basin as part of LNG expansion
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.
Stakes in three LNG plants boosts Santos revenue as prices average US$10.43 per MMBtu
Santos of Australia, a stakeholder in three liquefied natural gas export plants, posted record quarterly LNG sales revenue as its average LNG price soared to US$10.43 per million British thermal units compared with US$7.50 in the same three months of 2017.
