Offshore staff
ADELAIDE, Australia – Santos has initiated the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Dorado oil and gas project in the Bedout sub-basin, offshore Western Australia.
Dorado will be developed in two phases. Phase 1 involves production of oil and condensate through a wellhead platform (WHP), exported via 2 km (1.24 mi) of subsea infrastructure to an FPSO.
The estimated capital cost is around $2 billion (assuming a purchased FPSO).
According to the company, the choice of FPSO and WHP allows for an optimal integrated development of both the gas and liquids resource, while retaining flexibility for tie-ins from future exploration successes.
Initially, gas will be reinjected to enhance oil and condensate recovery, with estimated initial oil production of 75,000-100,000 b/d.
Dorado’s reservoir has around 1.5% CO₂: with all the gas being reinjected in the initial phase, this will be one of the lowest emission-intensity oil projects in the region, Santos added.
Phase 2 will develop natural gas resources in the Bedout sub-basin and provide future backfill supply to Santos’ Western Australia domestic gas infrastructure.
Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said a final investment decision should be taken around mid-2022.
“Dorado is on track to be the first development in the Bedout sub-basin, with its high-quality reservoirs and shallow-water setting, making it a very cost-competitive project globally...
“Potential nearby tie-in opportunities, starting with the Pavo and Apus prospects to be drilled early next year, could be easily tied-back into the Dorado infrastructure and materially increase the value of the project, due to the very low cost of development.”
FEED contracts for the FPSO and WHP design should be issued over the next few months. This follows the competitive pre-FEED phase for the major work packages.
Santos has an 80% operated interest in the Dorado project, the remainder held by Carnarvon Petroleum.
At the same time, the company is seeking interest from the market in taking non-operated equity in Dorado and potentially other Western Australia oil assets.
06/29/2021
