ConocoPhillips eyeing Barossa first gas in 2023

ConocoPhillips has submitted the first offshore project proposal for its Barossa area development in the Timor Sea, offshore Australia.

The Barossa offshore development area encompasses the Barossa and Caldita Fields, in the Bonaparte Basin, some 300 kilometers north of Darwin.

The development is anticipated to produce natural gas and light condensate. According to ConocoPhillips, the expected LNG and condensate production rates are expected to be around 3.7 million tonnes per year and 1.5 million barrels per year, respectively. The life of the project is expected to be approximately 20 years from first gas, which is targeted for 2023.

The development concept includes a permanently moored FPSO unit, subsea production system, supporting in-field subsea infrastructure in the Barossa field, and a subsea gas export pipeline. The FPSO facility will separate the natural gas and condensate extracted from the field with the condensate exported directly from the FPSO facility to offtake tankers in the Barossa offshore development area and the dry gas transported via a subsea gas export pipeline for onshore processing.

While appropriate commercial arrangements are yet to be put in place, it is proposed to connect the new subsea gas export pipeline to the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin gas export pipeline which feeds the onshore Darwin Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility at Wickham Point, NT. This would allow transport of dry gas from the Barossa Field to Darwin for liquefaction and export. Gas from the Barossa Field would replace the existing supply from the Bayu-Undan Field following its anticipated depletion in 2022.

As the new gas export pipeline route is still subject to refinement, a corridor has been identified for the purposes of the early stage Offshore Project Proposal (OPP) to allow flexibility for placement pending further engineering and environmental investigations.

The pre-front end engineering design work for the project is currently underway and is anticipated to be followed by FEED in 2018. The final investment decision (FID) for the project is anticipated to be in 2019.

FLNG too expensive

 

While Australia is set to host the world’s largest FLNG unit – the Prelude – in a few weeks, ConocoPhillips said that the FLNG development concept for the Barossa area was deemed uneconomic early in the project selection process due to its high capital cost relative to options utilising existing infrastructure.

“The FPSO facility concept will deliver gas supply continuity for the already existing DLNG facility, which not only greatly reduces development costs but importantly also has a significant socio-economic benefit and social investment flow-on effects such as creation of local jobs and supplier opportunities to the Darwin community. Delivering gas from the Barossa offshore development area through the proposed development concept to bring gas to Darwin will enable these socio-economic benefits to continue,” ConocoPhillips said.

Public input invited

 

Worth noting, an offshore project proposal is not necessarily the final development plan. It is a regulatory document document required for all proposed offshore projects in Commonwealth waters.

It covers offshore activities including production drilling, the construction and installation of facilities and infrastructure such as pipelines, the recovery of petroleum and associated operation of facilities, through to decommissioning.

Following the submission of the first offshore project proposal for the Barossa area, Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is now seeking public comment on the offshore project proposal.

The proposal, which can be found in full on the NOPSEMA website, will be open for public comment for a period of eight weeks ending on September 6, 2017.

“Providing the public with opportunities for participation and consultation is an integral part of an environmental impact assessment and assists in ensuring responsible offshore petroleum environmental management,” said   Stuart Smith, CEO of NOPSEMA.

As defined by the offshore safety regulator, an OPP provides a mechanism for the potential environmental impacts and risks of petroleum activities conducted over the life of a proposed offshore project to be assessed. It is a requirement of the OPP process that the public are provided an opportunity to scrutinise and comment on the OPP.

If NOPSEMA determines a proponent has not evaluated and addressed public comment adequately or the final OPP does not meet all of the requirements of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009 then NOPSEMA cannot approve the OPP.

However, if the regulator accepts the final OPP then that acceptance does not provide the necessary approval for an offshore petroleum activity to begin. Each activity within an accepted OPP must also have an accepted environment plan in place before it can begin.

Offshore Energy Today Staff