Oz NWS Western Flank-2 Starts Up Below Budget

An earlier version took figures cited by Woodside as in Australian dollars

The Greater Western Flank (GWF-2) gas project has started production US$630mn (A$890mn) below its expected cost of about US$2bn and six months ahead of schedule, operator Woodside Energy said October 25. GWF-2 is an extension of the Western Australian North West Shelf gas and LNG venture.

“The project team has done an outstanding job executing and delivering GWF-2, which represents the next phase in gas supply to the NWS Goodwyn A platform, extending the life of the Karratha Gas Plant and contributing to Woodside achieving our targeted production of 100mn barrels of oil equivalent in 2020,” Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said.

“This success has been achieved by combining the two GWF-2 drilling campaigns, accelerating project work packages and collaborating closely with our contractors,” he said, adding that these capabilities will be carried forward to the company’s next phase of growth, including the proposed developments of the Scarborough and Browse offshore gas resources.

The Scarborough and Browse projects are part of Woodside’s plan for the Burrup Hub, which would unlock the future value of the Karratha Gas Plant and Pluto LNG, Coleman said.

The GWF-2 project is located in Commonwealth waters about 135 km north-west of Dampier and includes eight subsea wells from six offshore fields, tied back to the existing Goodwyn A platform by a 35 km corrosion resistant subsea pipeline. The final investment decision on the project was make in December 2015.

Woodside and each of its other five partners - BHP, BP, Chevron, Japan Australia LNG, and Shell - each have 16.67% equity in NWS. Japan Australia is a joint venture of Mitsubishi and Mitsui.