The $2 billion (Australian) Goodwyn field development project on Australia's Northwest Shelf is under way with installation of a 17,500 metric ton steel platform jacket.
Meantime, the third liquefied natural gas train in the massive Northwest Shelf LNG project on Western Australia's Burrup Peninsula has been turned over to production personnel and is now in cool down. It is expected to start up this month.
Northwest Shelf project operator Woodside Petroleum Pty. Ltd. and partners are continuing with an extensive exploration program in the Northwest Shelf area.
The group expects to begin soon a wide ranging 3-D seismic survey over the WA-28-P license area and the Northwest Shelf production permits.
The goal is to identify new and appraise existing oil and gas prospects in the region for an exploratory drilling campaign to begin in first half 1993. Finding more gas reserves would bode well for extending existing LNG contracts with Japan or competing for new markets in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
GOODWYN PROGRESS
The Woodside group launched the Goodwyn jacket in 131 m of water about 23 km southwest of the North Rankin platform off Western Australia. A barge had moved the structure from the McDermott Inc. yard at Batam, Indonesia.
Woodside hired Heeremac's Balder semisubmersible construction vessel to handle piling work and to lift the Goodwyn modules and vertical flare tower into place during the next 3 months. The biggest module, at 3,600 tons, holds the platform's processing equipment and will require both Balder cranes to maneuver into place.
Hook-up and commissioning of the 26 slot platform is expected to be complete in first half 1993, and the first of 12-14 wells planned in the initial drilling program is to be on stream in October-November 1993.
Production at first will be only condensate separated from Goodwyn wet gas that will build to 80,000 b/d once all planned wells are drilled. Gas will be reinjected until needed to boost gas production from North Rankin field to fulfill existing LNG export and domestic gas contract requirements by about 1995.
Goodwyn production will move to onshore treating facilities via subsea pipeline to North Rankin and then through the existing 134 km trunk line to shore.
Woodside's partners in the Northwest Shelf project are BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd., British Petroleum plc, Chevron Corp., Mitsui Co., Mitsubishi Corp., and Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
