Pilot pursuing full ownership of Cliff Head oil field ahead of carbon capture development

July 28, 2023

Pilot Energy and Triangle Energy have agreed to modify their sales and purchase agreement of October 2022 concerning the Cliff Head JV offshore Australia and the proposed Cliff Head CCS project.

Offshore staff

BONDI JUNCTION, Australia — Pilot Energy Ltd. and Triangle Energy (Global) have agreed to modify their sales and purchase agreement of October 2022 concerning the Cliff Head joint venture (JV) offshore Western Australia and the proposed Cliff Head Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project.

Under the revised transaction, set to close by early 2024, Pilot will acquire the remaining 78.75% interest in the Cliff Head JV through the purchase of Triangle subsidiaries including Triangle Energy (Operations).

It supersedes the prior arrangements under which Pilot would have raised its existing 21.5% stake in the Cliff Head oil field JV to 60% and become full operator on receiving approval from Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) of a Declaration of Formation for CCS covering the offshore WA-31L permit.

Triangle staff will continue to work on the Cliff Head Field as it switches from oil production to the CCS project, and the company will support ongoing operations of the oil field until the transaction completes.

Pilot expects to pay Triangle about $15 million over the CCS project life.

The 6-sq km Cliff Head oil field is 10 km offshore Western Australia in a water depth of 15-20 m. According to Pilot, it was the first commercial oil discovery developed in the offshore Perth Basin, producing first oil in May 2006.

Current production capacity is close to 1,000 bbl/d from five ESP wells (three horizontal and two deviated) with produced water re-injected into three injection wells (one horizontal, two deviated).

The facilities, which are the sole offshore infrastructure in the Perth Basin, include an unmanned platform and a 14-km pipeline that transports the crude to a stabilization processing plant at Arrowsmith. There is one spare well slot available on the platform for future drilling activity.

Brad Lingo, Pilot’s Executive chair, said, ” The acquisition of the Cliff Head facility will enable Pilot to effectively pursue its innovative carbon capture project together with its integrated Mid West Clean Energy Project…

“Completion of the acquisition will enable Pilot to introduce strategically aligned partners into the project as well as financial investors to fund the proposed development. This will be the first offshore CCS development in the Mid West…”

07.28.2023