By an OGJ Online Correspondent
MELBOURNE, May 10 -- Southern Pacific Petroleum NL and Central Pacific Minerals NL said they have made their first shipment of shale oil products from the Stuart Project near Gladstone in Queensland.
More than 40,000 bbl of medium shale oil was exported Wednesday from Australia bound for the Southeast Asia fuel oil market.
The shipment marked the first revenue from the project and followed a successful run of production in April when more than 35,000 bbl of oil was produced.
Southern Pacific Petroleum and Central Pacific Minerals assumed operatorship of the Stuart plant from Suncor Energy Ltd. of Canada earlier this year.
The operators plan to produce 200,000 b/d of shale oil by 2012. That would include 85,000 b/d of production from the fully developed Stuart Project Stage 3 by 2009 (OGJ Online, Apr. 30, 2001).
Southern Pacific Petroleum and Central Pacific Minerals expect to reach a financial break-even point from Stage 1 production by moving to continuous production at the demonstration plant during the second half of the year and moving into the commercial Stage 2 in 2002.
