Legal challenges raise costs of Barossa offshore gas project

Jan. 25, 2024
Santos expects capex for its Barossa gas-condensate development in the Barents Sea to rise by $200 million to $300 million.

Offshore staff

ADELAIDE, AustraliaSantos expects capex for its Barossa gas-condensate development in the Barents Sea to rise by $200 million to $300 million.

This follows the judicial outcome to the Munkara v. Santos NA Barossa Pty Ltd. (No. 3) case, and Australian regulatory authority NOPSEMA accepting the revised drilling and completions environmental plan.

Total estimated capex is now $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion, with first gas expected during third-quarter 2025.

The project, which will backfill Darwin LNG, is currently 66.4% complete, including the Darwin Pipeline Duplication work.

Installation of the northern section of the gas export pipeline started in November 2023, with the remainder to be laid in accordance with the environment plan.

Following NOPSEMA’s approval in mid-December 2023, mobilization for drilling started soon afterward with activities resuming on the field on Jan. 13, 2024.

At the Seatrium yard in Singapore, integration work has started on the FPSO hull with six topside modules loaded onto the hull by the end of last year.

Offshore Western Australia, the Reindeer Field is still producing to the onshore Devil Creek facility, but field life is due to cease by mid-year. Feasibility studies continue on long-term storage of carbon in depleted gas reservoirs at Reindeer with FEED potentially starting this year.

In addition, Santos is assessing long-term CO2 storage in upstream gas reservoirs tied back to the Varanus Island gas processing facilities.

01.25.2024