A FIRST quarter trading and production update from Woodside Energy has served to highlight the current level of activity in Australia’s offshore oil and gas sector.

While quarterly production of 44.9 MMboe (494 Mboe/day) was down 7% from Q4 2023 due to lower production in Bass Strait, at Pyrenees and at Pluto that was partially offset by increased production at Mad Dog Phase 2 (Gulf of Mexico), the company said.

“In Western Australia, a milestone was marked with the arrival on site of the first modules for Pluto Train 2 and 13 modules were in place at the end of the quarter,” CEO Meg O’Neill said.

“Offshore, two flowlines were installed at the Scarborough field and drilling of the initial wells commenced. Overall, the Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects were 62% complete at the end of the first quarter and we remain on target for first LNG cargo in 2026.”

Amongst project highlights, the North West Shelf:

  • Achieved 97% LNG production reliability for the quarter; the NWS project participants took a final investment decision (FID) on the Lambert West Project which will support ongoing production from NWS; an Offshore Project Proposal was submitted to the regulator in January for a proposed Goodwyn Alpha (GWA) infill development. The development will infill the Karratha Gas Plant (KGP) with resources from several fields in proximity to the GWA platform, which will be tied back to existing GWA subsea infrastructure.

For Pluto:

  • Production was lower than the prior quarter due to reduced reliability (94.6% for the quarter) following an offshore trip and a separate electrical fault onshore; successfully commenced start-up of the produced water handling unit at the Pluto A platform; approvals were granted to extend Pluto gas flows through the Pluto-KGP Interconnector from ~April 2024 to ~December 2025, enabling continued acceleration of LNG and domestic gas production;  took FID on the Xena-3 well to support ongoing production from the Pluto LNG Project.

For Bass Strait:

  • Production was lower than the prior quarter due to lower seasonal market demand and offshore maintenance activities; commenced offshore installation of the Kipper Compression modules; in March, the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture (GBJV) ceased production from the West Kingfish platform as planned, due to declining oil production from the Kingfish field.

Other Australia:

  • The Pyrenees FPSO commenced a planned five-yearly maintenance turnaround in a Singapore drydock and is expected to return to production in Q2 2024; in January, a produced-water leak was identified subsea at the Pyrenees facility. This was immediately stopped, reported to the Regulator and the cause is being rectified.

Decommissioning:

  • The Griffin, Stybarrow and Enfield decommissioning campaign continued with 24 subsea structures and facilities recovered in the quarter and the Commonwealth waters section of the Griffin Gas Export Pipeline successfully removed; the Transocean Endurance drill rig has mobilised to the Stybarrow field and commenced the ten well plug and abandonment campaign; completed deconstruction of the Nganhurra Riser Turret Mooring at the Australian Marine Complex, with over 95% of material reused or recycled.