Japanese conglomerate Mitsui has announced that the development of the Henry gas field, which is adjacent to the onstream Casino gas field, has been agreed between Mitsui's wholly owned subsidiary Mitsui E&P Australia, the operator Santos and Australian Worldwide Exploration.
The total investment amount is approximately A$275 million, out of which Mitsui E&P Australia’s share is A$69 million.
The Casino gas field started production in February 2006 and has been supplying natural gas to the southeast Australia region. According to Mitsui E&P Australia, the performance of the field’s development has exceeded expectations, with its share of production in 2007 expected to reach approximately 10 billion cubic feet.
Mitsui E&P Australia is to strengthen its supply capability by the development of the Henry field using the existing Casino infrastructure, which will make for substantial contribution to regional supply on a long-term basis.
Mitsui has positioned the Oceania region as one of the core areas of its oil and gas upstream business, and aims to contribute to regional economics by the continuous exploration and production of natural resources in the region.