Australia’s energy giant Santos is on track to achieve the first gas next year from its project in Commonwealth waters, as a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is currently still under construction, is slated to move to its giant field off the coast of Australia in the first quarter of 2025.
While BW Offshore won a contract in March 2021 for the construction, connection, and operation of an FPSO destined for the Barossa field, which is located 300 kilometers off the coast of Darwin, the final investment decision (FID) for the project was taken days after the award, kick-starting a $600 million investment in the Darwin LNG life extension and pipeline tie-in projects. Afterward, Dyna-Mac got tapped by BW Offshore to build the topside modules.
The Australian development project entails an FPSO unit, subsea production wells, supporting subsea infrastructure, and a gas export pipeline tied into the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin LNG pipeline to extend the facility life for around 20 years. The Barossa project is a joint venture between Santos (50%), SK E&S (32.5%), and JERA (12.5%).
BW Offshore disclosed a $1.15 billion project debt financing in September 2021 for the construction and operation of the unit, known as the FPSO BW Opal, which will handle natural gas production at the Barossa field, thanks to the 4.6 billion, 15-year FPSO contract, with additional ten-year extension options. The first shipboard turret module was integrated into the hull on February 4, 2024.
According to Santos, the FPSO is on track to head to Australia in the first quarter of 2025, as it is currently 86% complete with all 16 modules loaded and installed onto the hull in Singapore. The vessel has moved to the commissioning yard and activities are now underway. The Barossa gas project is nearing the 80% completion mark with the first gas due in the third quarter of 2025.
The FPSO BW Opal is a large vessel with a processing capacity of up to 900 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas and a design capacity of 11,000 barrels per day of stabilized condensate. The Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) that will deliver gas from the field to Darwin LNG is complete. In addition, construction activities for the Darwin Pipeline Duplication are underway.
Source: offshore-energy.biz
