Australian LNG operator and stakeholder, Santos, and its GLNG partners plan on investing $900 million in upstream developments in the Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana regions this year.
As well as upstream developments around the Fairview, Scotia and Arcadia fields, this investment includes the first year of funding for the new $750 million Roma East project which will be developed over the next three years, Santos said in a statement on Tuesday.
Santos’ executive vice president onshore upstream, Brett Woods , and Queensland minister for mines and energy Anthony Lynham launched the Roma East project, following the drilling of the first of 430 new wells this month.
“Roma East will also add nearly 50 PJ a year to gas production in Queensland in 2020 – equivalent to about 8 percent of expected east coast domestic gas demand this year. This is great news for both the domestic gas market and our LNG exports,” Woods said.
The project will involve bringing online another 480 wells including drilling around 430 new wells, connecting existing appraisal wells, and drilling pre-development wells in the surrounding areas.
The project will also include around 420 kilometers of water, gas gathering and other pipelines, 120 TJ per day of additional compression, 670 kilometers of power lines and around 25 kilometers of fiber optic cables.
A new water-handling facility for irrigation and over 200 hectares of additional irrigation in the Roma area will improve livestock carrying capacity for some local landholders.