AWE Ltd. and Origin Energy Ltd., both of Sydney, have given financial approval for the first stage of the 484-bcf Waitsia gas field development onshore Perth basin in Western Australia.
This initial phase involves connecting the Waitsia-1 and Senecio-3 wells to the nearby refurbished Xyris production facility.
There will be installation of new infrastructure and upgrades to existing assets. Treated gas from the Xyris plant will be sent to the existing Parmelia pipeline to Perth for domestic consumption.
Operator AWE says engineering, execution, and management costs for Stage 1 will amount to $17.5 million (Aus.).
Construction will include two 4-in. flowlines from the two wellheads to a northern gathering manifold and then a 6-in. pipeline to the Xyris plant.
Initial capacity will be 10 terajoules/day of produced gas, which is expected on stream in August. Further expansion of capacity will be possible.
The joint venture has signed a take-or-pay sales agreement with Alinta Energy for 10 terajoules/day for 2½ years. Price of the gas was not disclosed.
First-stage production will provide early cash flow along with data to help optimize future plans for full field development.
The anticipated flow when fully developed is expected to be more than 100 terajoules/day, representing 10% of Western Australia’s daily domestic consumption.
AWE also is evaluating the potential for codeveloping the nearby Senecio-Synaphea-Irwin tight gas fields, which potentially contain a further 237 bcf of gas.
AWE and Origin each hold equal interest in the Waitsia project.
