ESSO Australia has reached total depth on the first of its two West Barracouta gas wells in Bass Strait, which will bring new gas supplies to the Australian domestic market next year.
The company says the development, located in the VIC/L1 block offshore Victoria, is part of the its continued investment in the Gippsland Basin, and will be tied back to the existing Barracouta infrastructure offshore in Bass Strait – the first offshore field ever discovered in Australia.
With total depth of 1.3 kilometres reached on the first well and the second well almost complete, the Esso says it will have West Barracouta gas flowing to the Australian domestic gas market by early next year.
ExxonMobil Australia chairman Nathan Fay said after more than 50 years, the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture continued to be a crucial source of gas supply for the nation, and was the largest supplier of gas to the eastern Australia market.
“Since drilling the first Bass Strait well in 1965, our operations have delivered more than four billion barrels of oil and 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to Australia,” he said.
“This is more than half of all the oil ever produced in Australia, and enough gas to power almost every home in Australia for a decade.
“Esso Australia continues to focus on delivering gas that Australians need to the domestic market.”
The new project builds on more than $5.5 billion invested by the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture in other recent Victorian projects supplying gas for Australians, including the Kipper Tuna Turrum offshore project and the Longford Gas Conditioning Plant.
“We are proud to continue our long history of investment in the Gippsland Basin where, along with our joint venture partner BHP, we have been powering Australian homes and businesses for more than five decades,” Mr Fay said.
ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia operates the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture on behalf of a 50-50 joint venture with BHP Billiton Petroleum and Esso Australia Resources.
