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    1. Field Development

    Esso completes first West Barracouta production well offshore Australia

    March 9, 2020
    ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia Pty Ltd. has reached total depth on the first of its two subsea production wells for the West Barracouta gas field development in the Bass Strait.
    (Courtesy ExxonMobil)
    Schematic of the West Barracouta gas field development.
    Schematic of the West Barracouta gas field development.

    Offshore staff

    MELBOURNE, Australia – ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia Pty Ltd. has reached total depth on the first of its two subsea production wells for the West Barracouta gas field development in the Bass Strait.

    Located in the VIC/L1 block in the Gippsland basin offshore Victoria, the development will be tied back to the existing Barracouta infrastructure.

    With TD of 1.3 km (4,265 ft) reached on the first well and the second well almost complete, production is expected to start flowing to the Australian domestic gas market by early 2021.

    Once constructed, the West Barracouta subsea infrastructure will be controlled from the Barracouta platform more than 5 km (3 mi) away.

    West Barracouta gas will be delivered through a 5-km pipeline via a new connection into the existing Barracouta pipeline so that the gas flows directly to the Longford gas plants.

    Nathan Fay, chairman of ExxonMobil Australia, said: “After more than 50 years, the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture continues to be a crucial source of gas supply for the nation and is the largest supplier of gas to the eastern Australia market.

    “Since drilling the first Bass Strait well in 1965, our operations have delivered more than 4 Bbbl of oil and 10 tcf of natural gas to Australia. This is more than half of all the oil ever produced in Australia, and enough gas to power almost every home in Australia for a decade.”

    Esso Australia Pty Ltd. operates the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture on behalf of a 50-50 joint venture with BHP Billiton Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd and. Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd.

    03/09/2020