Santos receives regulatory approval for Dorado project
Australian oil and gas producer Santos has received regulatory approval for its Dorado oil and gas project offshore Western Australia, it said on February 14.
The company said it welcomes the acceptance by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) of the offshore project proposal (OPP) relating to the Dorado development. Following the grant of a production licence in April 2022, Dorado now has the primary regulatory approvals required to support development.
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"Our focus now is to finalise the concept for an integrated liquids and gas development and obtain the remaining approvals required to support a final investment decision," Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher said.
"Dorado will provide a welcome boost to Australia's energy security, while the potential subsequent gas development provides a future source of supply for Western Australia's domestic market and LNG projects,” he added.
The Dorado and Pavo fields combined are estimated to contain gross 2C contingent resources of 189mn barrels of liquids and 401 petajoules of gas. Santos’ share is about 147mn barrels and 320 petajoules, respectively. Dorado is an integrated oil and gas project which is planned to be developed in two phases. Phase one development involves the production of oil and condensate through a wellhead platform and an FPSO.
Santos has an 80% interest in Dorado and a 70% interest in Pavo, and operates both fields. The remaining interests are held by Carnarvon Energy.
The partner in August last year warned that given the current regional inflationary pressures and supply chain challenges, the risk of cost escalation is “unacceptably high” and requires fiscal discipline until this environment shows signs of stabilising.