Exxon Completes Bass Strait Gas Project in Australia Ahead of Schedule

ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia successfully completed its Turrum field drilling program, drilling five new wells as part of its ongoing investment in Bass Strait to develop new gas supplies, the company said Friday.

The A$335 million investment involved the drilling of four gas wells and one oil well and follows the start-up of the Kipper Tuna Turrum project. Turrum holds an estimated 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 110 million barrels of oil and gas liquids.

ExxonMobil Australia Chairman Richard Owen said the drilling program was completed safely and ahead of schedule.

Owen said the Esso-BHP Billiton Gippsland Basin Joint Venture continues to supply nearly 40 percent of east coast Australian domestic gas demand.

“The Gippsland Basin Joint Venture has 50 years of experience in Bass Strait. Since the first well was drilled in 1965 in Bass Strait, approximately four billion barrels of crude oil and eight trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been produced,” he said.