The BP Australia-led joint venture working in offshore Carnarvon basin permit WA-359-P off Western Australia submitted an environmental plan to the Australian regulator (National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority – NOPSEMA) for the drilling of the Ironbark-1 wildcat.
The well, the group's first in the permit, is expected to spud during third-quarter 2020. Its target is the prospective Mungaroo formation reservoir which contains gas and condensate in the existing Gorgon, Julimar-Brunello, Iago, Goodwyn, North Rankin, and Perseus fields.
The prospect is on trend with these fields and has an estimated potential reserve of up to 1 tcf of gas.
BP said the structure has multiple objectives and is expected to take 100 days to drill to a total depth of 5,500 m. Water depth is around 300 m.
Ironbark, which spills into permit WA-409-P to the north, is 170 km offshore and 50 km from the Woodside group’s North Rankin production platform and the associated pipeline infrastructure tied to the North West Shelf LNG plant in Karratha. The prospect is also close to Pluto and Wheatstone projects’ LNG infrastructure.
Ironbark-1 will be the first well BP has drilled as operator for more than a decade.
The semisubmersible rig Ocean Apex has been contracted for the drilling program.
The environment plan was opened for public comment the week of Dec. 9 and will close Jan. 11, 2020.
BP is operator with 42.5%. Partners are Cue Energy, 21.5%; Beach Energy, 21%; and New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG), 15%. Apart from its direct interest, NZOG also holds a 50% interest in Cue Energy which effectively gives the company a 25.75% interest in the project.
