Technip was awarded by Apache Energy Ltd a subsea installation contract worth approximately A$60 million (about €50 million) for the Balnaves oil field development, located in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore North Western Australia, at a water depth of approximately 135 meters.
The contract includes the project management, design, engineering and installation of:
The field was discovered by Apache in 2009 during exploration and appraisal drilling in the Julimar-Brunello complex. Balnaves is a light, sweet oil accumulation in a separate reservoir in the Triassic Mungaroo formation, located adjacent to the large gas reservoirs of the Brunello gas field.
First production from the $438-million development is scheduled in 2014, with gross peak production of approximately 30,000 barrels of oil per day and estimated gross recoverable resource of 17 million barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic feet of gas. Two horizontal production wells will be connected to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel via subsea tiebacks. One water injection well will be used to maintain reservoir pressure. Gas will be reinjected into another reservoir for later production as part of the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) Project.
Technip’s operating center in Perth, Australia, will execute the contract, with engineering to commence immediately. The project is scheduled to be completed during the second half of 2013. Technip’s new-built multipurpose installation and construction vessel, the Deep Orient, will be used during the offshore campaign and will commence operations in 2013.
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, July 10, 2012; Image: Apache