Oz Minerva Gas Field Closes Down
Anglo-Australian mining group BHP is set to shut down production today at the Minerva gas field off Australia’s southeast coast, triggering a change in ownership at an onshore processing plant.
Minerva, launched in 2005 and now near depletion, is 90%-owned by BHP and 10% by Australia’s Cooper Energy. Cooper said it had been notified by BHP that the field would cease operations on September 3.
The closure will initiate the purchase of the Minerva gas plant in Victoria by Casino Henry, a 50:50 joint venture between Cooper and Japan’s Mitsui E&P, under a deal first announced in May 2018.
The facility is capable of processing 150 TJ (142mnft3)/day of gas and additional volumes of liquid hydrocarbons. Cooper and Mitsui will use it to handle production from Casino, Henry, Netherby and other offshore gas fields in the Otway basin.