JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The final phase of the midlife enhancement (MLE) project works at offshore gas deposit BassGas, which includes the installation and commissioning of a compressor and condensate pumping unit at the Yolla-A platform, had been completed ahead of time and within budget, ASX-listed AWE said on Friday.
The company, which holds a 35% interest in the Tasmania-based project, noted that this followed the drilling and completion of, and gas sales from, the final two development wells, Yolla-5 and Yolla-6, in 2015.
Compression of Yolla gas started on June 12, with production reaching the facility design capacity of 67 TJ/d on June 24, following a period of performance testing and system fine-tuning.
AWE CEO David Biggs noted that this marked the end of the BassGas MLE project: “We anticipate a significant improvement in BassGas production from July and we plan to start marketing our share of uncontracted gas from the Yolla field to prospective customers in 2018.”
Meanwhile, AWE is working with BassGas operator Origin Energy on the development of concept studies for the nearby Trefoil field, which is similar to the Yolla field in terms of gas-condensate mix.
The completion of the MLE project triggers a cash payment of $2.5-million to AWE from Prize Petroleum, in line with the terms of the sale of an 11.25% interest in BassGas to Prize by AWE in 2014. The payment is not expected to be received until the next financial year.