From Australia (RW): The government of Timor Lesté wants gas from the Greater Sunrise (SEN, 31/23) fields in the Timor Gap processed onshore and is willing to buy out operator Woodside Petroleum and any other partner who wants to sell.
Speaking at a conference in Perth, Petroleum Minister Alfredo Pires suggested that if one or more of the partners wanted to vacate the project, Timore Lesté’s $17bn petroleum fund would buy into the project if it would help to get the development up and running.
He said Timor Gap E&P - the national petroleum company - or a third party could then develop the resources ‘if Woodside finds it too hard to handle’. Pires did admit, however, that to his knowledge Woodside is not thinking of selling.
The minister said his country was keen to become more involved with Sunrise directly, or fund infrastructure such as the proposed pipeline to a location at Bea on the country’s south coast rather than seeing it built with ‘unproven’ floating LNG technology being advocated by the partners.
He said Timor Gap E&P has completed its own FEED and marine facility studies with the help of Norwegian firms and believes Timor Lesté could make a good return on its investment.
Pires said that there was some indication that the preliminary figures given by Woodside - $19bn for a pipeline to Timor Lesté, $15bn for a pipeline to Darwin and $12bn for an FLNG facility - are over-estimated. Consequently, the government sought to verify the figures.
He added that no serious consideration was taken on the Timor Lesté option to test the pipeline crossing of the 3,000m deep Timor Trench. His government has spent $20mn double-checking the Sunrise JV’s figures including $6mn to map the seafloor for the first time. He said the claims of an impassable trench making the pipeline option to Timor unviable were overstated.
Pires said the Timor pipeline would cost $800mn, whereas the Darwin option would cost $1.8bn. German company Europipe has said the Timor line was not outside the technological envelope.
It was also suggested that FLNG vessels were targets for terrorists, hinting that the pipeline option to Timor is a much safer option.
Recommended Reading
Sangomar FPSO Arrives Offshore Senegal
2024-02-13 - Woodside’s Sangomar Field on track to start production in mid-2024.
NAPE: Chevron’s Chris Powers Talks Traditional Oil, Gas Role in CCUS
2024-02-12 - Policy, innovation and partnership are among the areas needed to help grow the emerging CCUS sector, a Chevron executive said.
CNOOC Makes 100 MMton Oilfield Discovery in Bohai Sea
2024-03-18 - CNOOC said the Qinhuangdao 27-3 oilfield has been tested to produce approximately 742 bbl/d of oil from a single well.
TPH: Lower 48 to Shed Rigs Through 3Q Before Gas Plays Rebound
2024-03-13 - TPH&Co. analysis shows the Permian Basin will lose rigs near term, but as activity in gassy plays ticks up later this year, the Permian may be headed towards muted activity into 2025.
Proven Volumes at Aramco’s Jafurah Field Jump on New Booking Approach
2024-02-27 - Aramco’s addition of 15 Tcf of gas and 2 Bbbl of condensate brings Jafurah’s proven reserves up to 229 Tcf of gas and 75 Bbbl of condensate.