Cooper updates construction progress on Sole subsea tieback

July 27, 2017
Cooper Energy predicts first gas from the Sole field in the Gippsland basin offshore southeast Australia should enter the upgraded onshore Orbost Gas Plant in March 2019.

Offshore staff

ADELAIDE, AustraliaCooper Energy predicts first gas from the Sole field in the Gippsland basin offshore southeast Australia should enter the upgraded onshore Orbost Gas Plant in March 2019, with first gas sales from the plant following a few months later.

The company is developing the field with a subsea architecture conceptually similar to the Casino Henry project in the same region, with two near-horizontal production wells, subsea trees, and a subsea pipeline to shore.

Manufacturing has started in the UK of the control umbilical and of the 65-km (40-mi) subsea line pipe in Brazil. Assembly is also under way of the subsea wellheads and trees.

Well construction planning is on schedule with equipment assembly and testing under way. Preparations have also begun for drilling of the wells from Diamond Offshore’s semisubmersibleOcean Monarch in 1Q 2018.

Finally, the drill rig has been set up on site for horizontal directional drill works associated with the shoreline crossing of the offshore gas pipeline and associated control systems.

07/27/2017