AWE and Origin Energy approve investment to develop initial stage of Australia’s Waitsia field

AWE and Origin Energy have approved an initial $17.5m investment to develop the first stage of their Waitsia gas field development project, located in the onshore Perth Basin, Western Australia.

During this stage, new infrastructure will be developed and the existing assets would be upgraded that will link the recently flow tested Waitsia-1 and Senecio-3 gas wells to the Xyris production facility (XPF).

Construction work on the project will include two 4in flowlines from the well heads to a northern gathering manifold, as well as a 6in pipeline to transport the gas to the facility.

The partners have also completed FEED studies, selected an EPCM contractor and announced the approval of the pipeline licence and the environment plan for the in-field gas pipeline.

XPF will initially have a capacity of about ten terajoules (TJ) a day, with possibilities for further expansion and first gas production is expected to start next August.

The companies have negotiated an agreement with Alinta Energy to deliver 10TJ of gas a day for two-and-a-half years.

AWE managing director and CEO Bruce Clement said: "First stage production from Waitsia will provide early cash flow from mid-2016, as well as valuable data that will help us optimise our plans for full field development."

Production from Waitsia is expected to increase from 10TJ/day of stage 1A to more than 100TJ/day once it is fully developed.

"We are also evaluating the potential for co-developing the nearby Senecio/Synaphea/Irwin (SSI) tight gas fields. Together, these tight sandstone reservoirs are estimated to contain an additional gross 237Bcf of gas," Clement added.