PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Upstream oil and gas company Jadestone Energy has suspended operations at its Montara floating production and storage operation (FPSO) offshore Australia, after a gas alarm was triggered.
The company only in March this year restarted operations at the FPSO after being forced in 2022 to shut down production to allow for repairs on a leaking oil tank, which led to the discovery of a defect in water ballast tank 4S.
The company this week said that a gas alarm was triggered at the end of July within ballast water tank 4S, indicating possible communication with one of the adjacent tanks within the FPSO.
“While disappointing and frustrating to have to shut in Montara again, we will find and repair any additional defect while continuing with the overall planned programme of inspection of the storage tanks on the FPSO. The safety of our personnel, as well as the long-term integrity of the asset, are paramount. We will provide a further update once the inspection of tank 4S is complete,” said Jadestone president and CEO Paul Blakely.
Tank 4S will be emptied and cleaned over the next week to permit an inspection to identify the source of the communication between tanks and allow for appropriate repairs. Following the inspection, a further update will be provided outlining next steps, any potential costs and any impact to production guidance, Blakely said.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth Australia has expressed concerns that, given Jadestone’s current financial position, the Australian taxpayer would be left to foot the bill in a potential clean-up should Jadestone fall.
Jadestone said this week that the company had some $7.1-million cash on hand at the end of the June quarter, and had an undrawn $35-million standby working capital facility.