Production halt at Australian offshore platform as result of electrical fault

Triangle Energy has confirmed that production at the Cliff Head Alpha platform, which is located 14 km offshore in the Perth Basin, Australia, has been suspended as a result of an electrical fault.

Triangle’s on-site management who observed the electrical fault during routine maintenance immediately shut down production and initiated the emergency management plan in accordance with standard procedures, the company said on Monday.

Triangle added it had immediately reported this unplanned event, in accordance with the requirements of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

Triangle confirmed there is no risk to staff safety and has initiated work to remedy the fault and return to continuous production as soon as possible, the timeframe of which is anticipated to be between two and four weeks.

The company said it would keep its shareholders updated as to the progress of this remedial work and the impact on production.

Triangle Energy is the majority owner (78.75%) and registered operator of the Cliff Head Oil Field and Arrowsmith Stabilisation Plant, the only offshore and operating onshore crude oil facilities in the Perth Basin.

Oil production of approximately 1,000 bopd gross from the Cliff Head field is produced via an offshore platform connected to the onshore Arrowsmith Stabilisation Plant by twin 14km production and injection pipelines. Crude oil is trucked to BP at its Kwinana refinery south of Perth. Arrowsmith has a production capacity of 15,000 bopd so it has the capacity to service an increase in Reserves as well as third party crude.

It is also worth reminding that, a little less than a year ago, a technical issue with the downhole electric submersible pump at one of the wells at the Cliff Head oil field caused the well to stop producing.

Triangle experienced a similar issue with the downhole electric submersible pump on another well in 2018. Namely, a technical issue with the pump caused well CH12H to stop producing back in May 2018. The production from the well was not restored until October that year.

In addition, in July 2018, Triangle’s Cliff Head was hit by severe weather and sea conditions resulting in a loss of produced fluid and the interruption to production. The incident was classified as a low-level oil spill, in the range of zero to 10,000 liters.