Woodside updates offshore Australia development drilling, P&A campaigns
Woodside Energy has secured environmental approval for development of the XNA-03 well offshore Western Australia via existing infrastructure, the company said in an operations update.
This should support sustained gas production to the onshore Pluto LNG complex. Supplies were recently boosted further by startup of the PLA-08 subsea well.
At the offshore Scarborough gas-condensate field development, which will export production to Pluto LNG, installation, testing and pre-commissioning of the subsea infrastructure is close to completion. The third development well was drilled and completed, with reservoir properties and well deliverability in line with expectations.
One potential spanner in the works is a recent legal challenge, presented to the Federal Court of Australia, concerning the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority’s decision to accept the Scarborough Offshore Facility and Trunkline (Operations) Environment Plan.
A decision is pending, Woodside added.
In May, McDermott reported that it successfully completed the fabrication, construction and offshore floatover mating of the Scarborough floating production unit (FPU) topsides and hull structures. The contract, awarded in 2021, followed the successful delivery of front-end engineering design work for the Scarborough FPU.
Drilling and P&A work offshore Australia
Elsewhere offshore Western Australia, the Lambert West development well, part of the North West Shelf project, has been drilled with associated subsea infrastructure installed. Production should begin during the current quarter sustaining throughput from the Angel platform.
Drilling of the four wells for the Julimar Phase 3 project, a tieback to the existing Julimar Field production system, should also get underway shortly.
Subsea construction commenced ahead of the drilling campaign scheduled for third-quarter 2025, with project startup expected in 2026.
Offshore Victoria, P&A work has finished on the remaining three wells at the Minerva Field, with about 45% of the Minerva pipeline recovered across State and Commonwealth waters. However, technical and weather issues caused activities to be suspended, with a resumption depending on vessel availability.
In the Bass Strait, development drilling should start during the current quarter for the Esso Australia-operated Kipper 1B project. Drilling should also get underway later this year for Turrum Phase 3, with associated modifications in progress on the offshore Marlin-B platform.
FID on Atlantis expansion project in GoM
Finally, bp and Woodside have taken FID on the Atlantis Major Facility Expansion Project in the US Gulf of Mexico. This is expected to increase water injection capacity, supporting increased production from targeted reservoirs. First water injection is targeted for 2027.
