An environment plan by Beach Energy’s subsidiary for drilling the Artisan exploration well in the Otway Basin offshore Australia is now under assessment with Australian regulator NOPSEMA.
Lattice Energy, a subsidiary of Beach Energy, proposes to drill a single exploration well – with the option to suspend and develop pending reservoir analysis – in Commonwealth waters of the Otway Basin approximately 32 km off Victoria’s south-west coast.
The Artisan-1 well is proposed to be drilled by a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU). The 2013-built Ocean Onyx is currently proposed to undertake this drilling activity. The Ocean Onyx is a conventionally moored, non-self-propelled, column-stabilized semi-submersible MODU owned and operated by the Diamond Offshore.
The proposed Artisan-1 well location is at a water depth of approximately 71 m. The operational area for the drilling program has been defined as a 2 km radius around the well whilst the MODU is moored on location. The 2 km radius encompasses both the outer extent of mooring equipment on the seabed, and the 500 m rig safety exclusion zone (RSEZ).
The drilling activity is planned to start in 4Q 2019 or 1Q 2020 with drilling expected to take approximately 35 to 55 days, depending on the final work program and potential operational delays.
The Artisan-1 well may be suspended for future production if commercial quantities of hydrocarbons are discovered. Any potential future production drilling of Artisan-1 well will be addressed under a separate Environment Plan (EP). Drilling and support operations will be conducted on a 24-hour basis for the duration of the program.
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