Diamond Offshore-owned Ocean Monarch drilling rig has started preparations to mobilize from offshore Fremantle to the Otway Basin offshore Victoria for Cooper Energy’s drilling campaign.
The mobilization comes following receipt of regulatory approvals, Cooper said on Monday.
The 2008-built semi-submersible rig is to be towed to the Casino Henry gas project where a workover of the Casino-5 well is to be undertaken. The well is currently shut-in and operations are scheduled to start in March.
The project is operated by Cooper Energy with a 50% interest. Mitsui E&P Australia and AWE Limited hold 25% interest each.
On completion of the workover, the Ocean Monarch will move to the Sole gas field off Australia to drill and complete the Sole-3 and Sole-4 production wells for development of the field as part of the Sole gas project. The Sole-3 and Sole-4 wells are scheduled for April and May, respectively.
Cooper Energy has a 100% interest in the Sole gas field which is being developed to provide a new source of gas supply to south-east Australia in 2019.
According to Cooper, the current expectation is that the Ocean Monarch will depart offshore Fremantle late on Monday, February 19 and that the voyage to Casino Henry will take up to 25 days depending on weather conditions.