The West Erregulla onshore gas field is a conventional gas project located in the North Perth Basin approximately 230km northeast of Perth in Western Australia.

The massive gas field is estimated to hold up to 1.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas. It will be developed through a 50:50 joint-venture partnership between Warrego Energy and operator Strike Energy.

The West Erregulla-2 was the latest major gas discovery announced in August 2019. A final investment decision for the West Erregulla field development is expected in the second half of 2020.

The West Erregulla gas project was awarded the Lead Agency Status by the Premier and Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade in May 2020.

The project will be developed in phases, with the start of production targeted for 2022.

Discovery, appraisal and exploration details

The West Erregulla gas field located in the EP469 onshore oil and gas region of Western Australia was discovered in 1990. Spread over 224km2, the gas field is an elongated north-south four-way dip closed structure, approximately 10km-long and 4km-wide.

Barack Energy carried out drilling of the West Erregulla-1 well up to a depth of 4,064m in May 1990.

Later, the onshore exploration permit EP469 was awarded to Warrego Energy in April 2010. The pre-appraisal seismic programme was performed by Dutch exploration and production companies Dyas BV and Mazarine Energy BV along with Warrego Energy in 2014.

The operatorship of the gas field was transferred to Strike Energy with a 50% partnership interest in June 2018 after Dutch oil companies pulled off from the exploration drilling.

Strike Energy funded the cost of drilling West Erregulla-2 well in 2019 apart from facilitating permits, geological and geophysical studies.

West Erregulla gas field pre-development plan

The West Erregulla-2 well was drilled in August 2019 to a depth of 4,720m with the discovery of gas in four separate Permian-aged sand packages, Dongara, Wagina, Kingia, and High Cliff. The Erregulla-2 well was estimated to produce up to 69mcf/d of gas from the Kingia reservoir.

The drilling of the West Erregulla-3 well is set to take place for the third quarter of 2020 followed by the appraisal drilling of the fourth and the fifth West Erregulla wells in 2021.

West Erregulla gas field infrastructure

The infrastructure at the West Erregulla gas field will include a drill pad, drill rigs, diesel generators, fuel storage tanks, a refuelling area, lined cuttings, and mud sump, and a chemical storage area.

The gas field will utilise Ensign 970, an ADR-1500 model rig with a hook load of 340,000kg, for drilling activities for the West Erregulla-3 well.

Gas sales agreement

Strike Energy signed an offtake agreement with Cuming Smith British Petroleum (CSBP), a Western Australian industrial gas user and fertiliser manufacturer, in May 2019.

Strike Energy will supply up to 25 terajoules of gas a day to CSBP as part of the agreement.

Contractors involved

Ensign Energy was contracted to provide drilling services for the West Erregulla gas field in June 2020.

RISC Advisory was contracted by Warrego Energy for third-party certification of the West Erregulla resources in May 2020.

Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) signed an agreement with Strike Energy in May 2020 for the development of a plant to process 50 terajoules per day of gas from the West Erregulla phase one development in May 2020.

Bridge Street Capital Partners was engaged by Warrego Energy to provide advisory services for the West Erregulla gas field development in September 2019.