A floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel has arrived at the Barossa gas field, with the successful hooking up of the vessel marking a critical milestone on the path to first gas.
The BW Opal FPSO is the production centrepiece of Santos’ Barossa LNG project.
Santos and its joint venture partners, SK E&S and JERA Co., Inc. have invested $6.07 billion in the project to date, which is now in the final stages of commissioning.
Five wells of the six-well program have now been drilled, with the fifth well being prepared for flow testing. The final well is expected to be completed in the third quarter, and Santos said production from three wells can deliver full production rates at the Darwin LNG plant if required.
The gas giant said the 262km gas export pipeline and 123km Darwin pipeline duplication are complete, in addition to subsea infrastructure required for first gas.
Kevin Gallagher, Santos managing director and chief executive officer, said the project has come a long way since regulator acceptance of the Offshore Project Proposal in 2018.
“The project remains on track for first gas in the third quarter of 2025, and within the original cost guidance, which is a remarkable achievement. Barossa is a world class asset.”
Santos said the Barossa LNG project will deliver reliable energy for the next decade and beyond that supports energy security and national security, as well as its partners’ emissions reduction plans across the Asia region.
The company said its equity share of Barossa LNG is largely contracted as a part of Santos’ portfolio of long-term and mid-term LNG sales agreements.
“Our agreements with tier one customers strengthen Santos’ LNG portfolio which is around 90 per cent contracted over the next five years with strong pricing driven by the high heating value of our LNG, reliability of supply, and our proximity to growing markets in Asia and our Japanese, Korean, Malaysian and Chinese customers,” Gallagher said.
In addition, Santos said that the Darwin LNG life extension (DLE) work scope, in support of the Barossa LNG project, is on track to be completed early in the third quarter of 2025, with work now 90 per cent complete.
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