AWE Limited, the operator of the Waitsia gas project in Western Australia production license L1/L2, informed that the preparations for the Stage 2 of the project are advancing.
Together with its joint venture partner, Origin Energy, AWE has approved the 2017 development activities budget, which will include drilling the final two appraisal wells required for Stage 2 of the project, located in Western Australia’s onshore Perth Basin, AWE said in its statement on Friday.
David Biggs , CEO of AWE Limited, said the drilling of the Waitsia-3 and Waitsia-4 is anticipated from April to June 2017
“These are the final appraisal wells planned ahead of Stage 2 development and will provide valuable data and potentially increase our 2P reserves,” he said.
The company has already commenced a tender process for Waitsia stage 2 gas sales with received bid volumes totalling more than double of the JV’s 2P reserves.
“Waitsia Stage 2 could supply 10 percent of WA’s domestic gas demand, 100 TJ per day, for 10 years, ” Biggs said.
Responding to Origin’s consideration of an IPO of their upstream exploration and production assets, Biggs said that a new entity, purely focused on upstream exploration and production, could be a positive for the Waitsia project.