PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Barossa-Caldita offshore project has taken a major step forward with Australia’s offshore petroleum regulator approving the project proposal.
Oil and gas major Santos on Wednesday reported that the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (Nopsema) had assess the environmental impacts and risks of petroleum activities at the Barossa-Caldita project over an expected 25-year life, and has accepted the joint venture (JV’s) proposal.
“Acceptance of the offshore project proposal (OPP) gives us a level of regulatory comfort and the certainty we need to enter the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase in the very near future,” said Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher.
He said that the approval confirmed that Barossa was the leading candidate to supply backfill gas to Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the only gas supply source on track to deliver gas when the Bayu Undan production ends in the early 2020s.
“This is one of the major regulatory steps leading to offshore project development and petroleum production, and it reinforces Barossa’s position as the only gas supply source capable of meeting Darwin LNG’s timetable.”
The Barossa gas field, some 300 km north of Darwin, lies within Santo’s Northern Australia portfolio. Santos holds a 25% interest in the Barossa-Caldita JV, along with partners ConocoPhillips, and SK E&S.
The OPP approval paves the way for the submission of activity-specific environmental plans.