Offshore staff
ADELAIDE, Australia – Santos has awarded Altera the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for the FPSO for the Dorado oil and gas project offshore Western Australia.
Dorado is in the WA-437-P permit in the Bedout sub-basin, 160 km (99.4 mi) north of Port Hedland. Santos operates with an 80% interest, in partnership with Carnarvon Petroleum (20%).
Altera will initially perform definition engineering to confirm the technical requirements for the FPSO and its disconnectable mooring system.
The full work scope comprises engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and testing of the facility.
Santos, which is targeting FID for the project in mid-2022, plans a two-phase development. The first phase covers production of oil and condensate through a new wellhead platform (WHP) and the FPSO.
Gas will be reinjected to enhance oil and condensate recovery, followed by a planned future phase of gas production to supply Santos’ domestic gas infrastructure in Western Australia.
Dorado’s reservoir contains a relatively low CO2 content of around 1.5%. This, combined with reinjection of gas in the initial phase, should result in one of the region’s lowest emission-intensity oil projects, Santos claims.
Managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “The FPSO design will provide for the integrated development of both the liquids and the gas resource and retains sufficient flexibility to support future nearby exploration success. “A contract for the design, supply and installation of the WHP will be awarded soon,” he said.
8/23/2021
