Thylacine wells to boost throughput at Otway Gas Plant

ADELAIDE, Australia—Beach Energy has started activities to connect the four Thylacine development wells offshore Victoria to the Otway Gas Plant.

The new wells should bring the plant to its full nameplate capacity of 205 TJ/d.

Subsea7’s subsea installation vessel Scandi Acergy should reach Australia this month for the subsea construction program, with all major equipment already received, including umbilicals, connecting pipes and spools, hydraulic and electrical flying leads.

All diving construction work has finished and associated modifications to the Thylacine platform are progressing.

Beach also plans to connect its 34-MMboe Enterprise discovery, drilled from an onshore well pad in 2021, to the Otway Gas Plant. Depending in part on land access negotiations and other approvals, it aims to bring Enterprise online in mid-2024.

In the offshore Bass Basin, well planning and rig scouting continues for the Yolla West infield opportunity, a previously unidentified fault block that came to light following reprocessing of an existing 3D seismic survey over the Yolla Field.

If the well is successful, Yolla West could be connected to the Lang Lang Gas Plant 70 km southeast of Melbourne soon after the planned drilling in the first half of 2024.

In addition, Beach has completed a review of mapping and seismic interpretation of the Prion 3D seismic survey over the offshore Trefoil, White Ibis and Bass discoveries. Final inversion results should be issued in the third quarter, supporting development planning.

Finally, in New Zealand’s offshore Taranaki Basin, subsurface analysis, planning and regulatory activities continue for drilling the Kupe South 9 development well in second-quarter 2024, subject to joint venture and regulatory approvals and rig availability.

Potentially, Beach said, the well could return the Kupe Gas Plant to capacity processing rates of 77 TJ/d.

02.17.2023