Barossa gas field off NT edges to decision

Santos says detailed engineering design for its Barossa development off the coast of Darwin is being advanced across a number of fronts with a final investment decision targeted for late 2019 or early 2020.

Santos says detailed engineering design for its Barossa development off the coast of Darwin is being advanced across a number of fronts with a final investment decision targeted for late 2019 or early 2020.

It says the successful delivery of the three-well Bayu Undan infill program in 2018 has resulted in the delivery of higher liquids production and bids for the Subsea Production System have been evaluated and a contract award is expected by mid-year 2019.

The company has told shareholders technical bids for the floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) design competition between Modec and the TechnipFMC/Samsung consortium have been received, and commercial bids are expected.

Bids for the gas export pipeline have also been received and are under assessment.

An invitation to tender for the drilling program is expected to be released during the second quarter this year.

A Production Licence application for the project has been made. The successful development of Barossa would extend the operating life of Darwin LNG for more than 20 years and deliver ~9 mmboe average annual net production to Santos.

On February 18 Santos announced that it had 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 a large existing contingent resource.

The transaction sees Santos and Beach Energy become 50/50 joint venture partners across NT/P82, NT/P85, NT/P84 and WA-454-P.

Santos also reported the wildcat Dukas-1 exploration well targeting a conventional sub-salt play in the Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, spudded on April 16.

Approvals from Northern Territory regulatory authorities for the two-well McArthur drilling campaign are progressing and the program remains on-track to spud the first well in the third quarter of 2019.