Santos has reported the production of first gas from the third and final well of the Bayu Undan infill well program in the Timor Sea.
Image: Santos announces first gas from third well of Bayu Undan infill well program. Photo: courtesy of QR9iudjz0/Freeimages.com.
The Australian oil and gas company said that the Bayu Undan infill well program has now been completed, under budget and ahead of schedule.
The infill well program was completed less than a year after a final investment decision was made in January 2017 as part of the long-term development plan for the Bayu Undan gas/condensate field, located 500km off Darwin, Australia.
It featured drilling of two platform wells along with a subsea well that connect into existing offshore infrastructure. The wells were drilled using the Noble Tom Prosser rig.
Santos said that it will use the rig will take up a drilling program in 2019, including appraisal of the Dorado oil discovery offshore Western Australia among others.
The Australian firm has a stake of 11.5% interest in the Bayu Undan project and the Darwin LNG plant, which are both operated by the US-based ConocoPhillips.
Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “This drilling campaign has been very successful, providing strong subsurface results, with the whole project having been executed approximately 40% below budget and the final well brought on-line over three months ahead of schedule.”
“The program’s success means that we have delivered higher liquids production and increased offshore well capacity. Operator ConocoPhillips has done an excellent job in executing such an efficient drilling program.”
The Bayu Undan project, which is made up of the Bayu and Undan fields discovered in 1995, has been in production since April 2004.
Apart from the Bayu Undan project, Santos is a partner to ConocoPhillips in the Barossa Offshore Project located in the Bonaparte Basin in the Timor Sea. Santos, which has a stake of 25% interest in the Barossa project, expects it to more than double the company’s production in Northern Australia.
A final investment decision on the Barossa Offshore Project is anticipated to be made in late 2019.
Last month, Santos completed its previously announced $2.15bn acquisition of Western Australia-based oil and gas company Quadrant Energy, whose assets are mainly located in the Carnarvon Basin.