ExxonMobil Announces West Barracouta FID

Oil major ExxonMobil has made a final investment decision to develop the West Barracouta gas field in offshore Australia as part of ongoing investment in the Gippsland Basin.

The FID for the West Barracouta gas field in Bass Strait follows completion of front-end engineering design work a part of the Esso-BHP Gippsland Basin Joint Venture.

“We continue to use advanced technology, along with our extensive, decades-long understanding of the Gippsland Basin, to ensure full potential of the resource can be realized,” said Neil W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Production.

 

2021 Target for Domestic Markets

The field, located in the VIC/L1 block offshore Victoria, supplies about 40 percent of east coast Australian domestic gas demand.

“Our objective is to produce West Barracouta gas for the Australian domestic gas market by 2021,” Duffin added.

Gippsland Basin Joint Venture has invested more than US$4 billion to date in the development of offshore infrastructure in the region including the Kipper Tuna Turrum offshore project and the Longford Gas Conditioning Plant.

An estimated 4 billion barrels of crude oil and 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been produced since the first Bass Strait well was drilled in 1965. The Gippsland Basin Joint Venture is operated as a 50-50 joint venture between BHP Billiton Petroleum and ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia.

 

Exploration Opportunities Grow

Australia’s oil and gas boom has continued unabated by low prices, with consultancy Wood Mackenzie hailing the recently discovered Bedout Basin and Dorado find as “the next big thing” set to drive demand for breakbulk oil expertise return exploration “with a vengeance.”

Meanwhile, pipeline company Jemena this month opened its new North East Gas Interconnector linking Northern Territory gas fields to the east coast gas market. The 623-kilometer pipeline links Tennant Creek in the Territory to Mt Isa in Queensland.

“The pipeline will drive commercial exploration and development of currently untapped gas reserves, unlocking the next phase of economic growth for the territory and helping build a stronger Northern Australia,” said Paul Adams, Jemena managing director.

Photo: Offshore platform. Credit: Wikimedia