Offshore staff
PERTH, Australia — Woodside Energy has issued updates on its global offshore projects, including operations that came with its recent acquisition of BHP’s hydrocarbon activities.
In the deepwater Mexican sector of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), Woodside is targeting a potential investment decision on the Trion oilfield project in 2023. The present focus of the FEED is on optimizing the development and execution plan, cost and schedule.
Later this year the Deepwater Invictus drillship should start drilling the second development well for Shenzi North, a two-well subsea tieback to the Shenzi TLP in the Green Canyon protraction area offshore Louisiana. Shenzi North, with production capacity of up to 30,000 boe/d, will likely come onstream in 2024.
During a planned shutdown of the TLP this spring, the Shenzi subsea multi-phase pump was installed and commissioned and started operating ahead of schedule. The pump should improve recovery from existing producing wells and future infill wells.
Wildling had been another two-well tieback opportunity to the TLP. But following plug and abandonment of the recent unsuccessful S/101 appraisal well, Woodside will not pursue any further Wildling development activities in blocks GC564 and GC520.
As for the bp-operated Mad Dog Phase 2 development—based around a new floating production facility with production capacity of up to 140,000 boe/d (Woodside 23.9%)—hookup and commissioning of the Argos platform topsides is progressing, with the wells campaign nearing completion.
However, an issue with two of the production flexible joints was detected during testing. This is currently being assessed, but it is unclear whether the expected project startup in 2022 could be impacted at this stage.
Off Senegal, the Woodside-operated deepwater Sangomar field development Phase 1 was 63% complete at the end of the second quarter. The mooring system for the FPS has been installed, and development drilling is progressing with the second drillship, Ocean BlackHawk, starting operations earlier this month.
During October, the FPSO should be relocated from the shipyard in China to the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore to complete commissioning. The subsea installation campaign should start later in the current quarter.
Woodside has decided to end its current sell-down process for Sangomar.
In Western Australia, all main equipment items have been procured for the Scarborough gas project’s floating production unit (FPU) and Pluto Train 2, including compressors, generators and turbines.
Construction works have started for Train 2 at the Pluto LNG site.
Fabrication of the FPU topsides got underway in June. Manufacture of the pipeline has reached the 25% point, and all subsea trees are completed for the initial startup.
Also last month, Woodside secured approval under section 45C of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) to increase the diameter of the Scarborough trunkline within state waters from 32 inches to 36 inches.
At the Pyxis hub, the drilling and completions campaign for the Xena Field (Phase 2 of Pyxis Hub project) has begun, with startup on track for second-half 2022. Recently, the project was 90% complete.
Subsea installations have finished for Greater Western Flank Phase 3 (GWF-3), which includes Lambert Deep.
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) released its public report last month on the NWS Project Extension proposal. The report recommends that the proposal may be implemented subject to satisfaction of key environmental conditions.
However, the proposal remains subject to approval by the WA Minister for Environment.
In the Bass Strait off Victoria, an offshore fuel gas pipeline was redirected recently to increase production capacity from 970 terajoules to 1,020 terajoules/d. This allowed Woodside to supply additional gas to the eastern Australian domestic gas market.
And the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture is working on a feasibility study for a southeast Australian carbon capture and storage hub (SEA CCS) to support the decarbonization goals of the co-venturers, local industry, and the Victorian and Commonwealth governments.
SEA CCS would use existing infrastructure to capture and store up to 2 MMt/year of CO2 in the depleted Bream reservoir offshore Victoria.
07.21.2022
