Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, Feb. 2 -- Production has begun from Casino gas field operated by Santos Ltd. in the offshore Otway basin of western Victoria, Australia (see map, OGJ, Oct. 24, 2005, p. 51).
Delivery of first gas from the field was made to TRUenergy's Iona onshore processing plant near Port Campbell via subsea pipeline. From there it will be sent to South Australia and Australia's eastern seaboard.
TRUenergy (formerly TXU) has an initial 12-year contract to take up to 420 petajoules of Casino gas as well as from future developments nearby, which include the same group's recently discovered Henry field (OGJ Online, Aug. 3, 2005).
Casino is the second Santos-operated gas field in Australia to come on stream in the last 9 months following the Mutineer-Exeter field off northwestern Australia (OGJ Online, Mar. 31, 2005).
Both developments produced first gas well ahead of schedule. In Casino's case, first gas comes just over 3 years after discovery.
Casino is on permit Vic/P44 about 30 km offshore in 70 m of water. The field has been developed via subsea wellheads and a subsea pipeline, which makes landfall via a directionally drilled section under the beach and cliffs to the plant well inland.
Participants are Santos 50%, Australia Worldwide Exploration Ltd. 25%, and Japan's Mitsui & Co. 25%.
