AWE Ltd. and Origin Energy Resources Ltd., both of Sydney, have started sales of commercial natural gas from Stage 1A of the Waitsia gas project in the onshore North Perth basin of Western Australia.
Operator AWE said the development has been completed on time and within budget.
Waitsia lies in production licences L1/L2 about 370 km north of Perth and 16.5 km east-southeast of Dongara.
Stage 1A comprised the installation of systems to connect the Waitsia-1 and Senecio-3 gas wells to the upgraded nearby the Xyris production facility. Engineering, execution, and management costs for Stage 1A cost an estimated $17.5 million (Aus.).
The facility has been commissioned and production is running at capacity 10 terajoules/day. The gas is flowing into the existing Parmelia pipeline and Alinta Energy is taking up to a maximum quantity of 9.6 terajoules/day under a signed 2½-year take-or-pay sales agreement. The gas’s price is confidential.
The partnership is now turning its attention to Stage 2 of the project, which is a full field development that aims to increase output capacity to 100 terajoules/day of gas. The companies are now proceeding with the development concept selection process and two new appraisal and production wells for the field are planned for drilling next year.
The 484-bcf Waitsia field was discovered in September 2014. AWE earlier this year reported a 93% increase in the 2P reserves in Waitsia field (OGJ Online, June 3, 2016). Final investment decision for Stage 1A was made in January.
AWE and Origin each hold an equal interest in the project.