Nexus secures diving support vessel contract

July 27, 2009
Nexus Energy Ltd., Melbourne, will resume construction and offshore hook-up in September of its Longtom natural gas field in the Bass Strait off southeast Victoria upon arrival onsite of its new diving support and installation vessel.

Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent

MELBOURNE, July 27 -- Nexus Energy Ltd., Melbourne, will resume construction and offshore hook-up in September of its Longtom natural gas field in the Bass Strait off southeast Victoria upon arrival onsite of its new diving support and installation vessel.

The company has contracted the vessel Rem Etive, owned by TS Marine of Singapore, after the original vessel was demobilized last month due to a contractual dispute over its ongoing charter.

The pipeline connecting Longtom to the existing Santos Ltd.-owned Patricia-Baleen field to onshore has already been laid as has the control umbilical. The remaining work at Longtom predominantly involves diving operations to hook up installed equipment at the field. The work is expected to last Sept. 28 through Oct. 15.

Nexus says development costs will probably increase by about 5% due to the delay, but this won’t impact the previously announced sale of 50% stake in Longtom to AED Oil Ltd. beyond a change in the expected completion date of the deal.

Longtom is expected to come on stream via Santos’ Patricia-Baleen onshore gas plant during the fourth quarter.