Three of Australia’s leading E&P companies have issued updates on their field development and decommissioning projects in the country’s major offshore basins.

Woodside: Browse, Scarborough and Pluto projects progress

Woodside reported that the Browse to North West Shelf Project offshore Western Australia was progressing technical definition, regulatory approvals and commercial agreements as part of pre-FEED activities.

Earlier this year, CEO Liz Westcott, in her address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia’s State of the Nation 2026 Conference in Canberra, said Browse was the country’s largest undeveloped gas resource.

She also mentioned that the partners were considering two FPSOs for the development.

Currently Woodside is in talks with contractors on the design and construction of these facilities, and engineering studies for downstream modifications to process Browse gas at the onshore Karratha Gas Plant.

And following submission of the revised Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 referral, the Commonwealth regulator has ruled that the Browse Carbon Capture and Storage Project will be assessed via an Environmental Impact Statement.

At Pluto LNG in Western Australia, preparations have progressed for the subsea tie-in and commissioning of the XNA-03 infill well, which is due to go online up in the current quarter.

Commissioning/startup activity also continues for the offshore Scarborough gas-condensate development, which will export production to the Pluto complex.

The program covers the FPU and subsea production system, along with well clean-up and export of gas to pressurise the trunkline. Well clean-up results to date are in line with reservoir and well performance expectations.

Scarborough’s first LNG cargo remains on track for delivery this year.

To the south, Woodside completed the Julimar offshore development Phase 3 project, with start-up and performance testing of the final development wells executed in September.

In addition, three Julimar-Brunello exploration wells were decommissioned, along with other wells on the North West Shelf gas field.

Following remediation of a defect in the Okha subsea mooring system, and reconnection of the FPSO, production has resumed. More recently, the Pyrenees FPSO was disconnected from its offshore location ahead of scheduled shipyard activity.

Santos: CO₂ storage appraisal and decommissioning work advance

During the third quarter, Santos issued a rig contract for drilling next year of the John Brookes infill well offshore Western Australia, and continued work on the Mutineer Exeter Fletcher Finucane subsea asset removal campaign.

Over the Bonaparte Basin in northwest Australia, the company commissioned the Eos 3D offshore seismic survey.

The main goals were to deliver detailed structural and amplitude imaging of the reservoir/seal interface for each identified CO₂ storage target – to support future CO₂ plume monitoring and forward modelling - and to image tectonic and polygonal fault systems in order to assess and mitigate the CO₂ containment risk. 

Offshore southeast Australia, Woodside’s Gippsland Basin P&A program included conductor recovery at the Cobia field, completion of preparations for the Snapper campaign, and initiating Barracouta A P&A activities.

The company also progressed execution readiness for the offshore Echo Yodel pipeline removal project.

And in the Bass Strait, Woodside completed the five Turrum Phase 3 project development wells with first production planned during first-half 2027.

Beach Energy: Otway Basin exploration plans move forward

Nearby in the nearshore offshore Otway Basin, Beach and its partner are progressing work on two planned exploration wells on the Enterprise East and Selje prospects, with drilling likely to start in first-half 2028, pending FID next year.

The proposed campaign, with estimated capex of $175-200 million, would make use of existing infrastructure.

Finally, Beach is progressing a potential farm-out of its 100%-owned T/30P and T/50P permits in the deeper water Otway Basin.