Mrs HICKEY - 1994-10-12
Members would be aware of the recent announcement by Woodside Petroleum regarding its discovery of light oil at Laminaria-1 in the Timor Sea north-west of Darwin. They would also be aware of the announcement from Santos recently regarding a significant gas find at the Petrel 5 well in the Bonaparte Gulf. How will these developments affect industry confidence?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is indeed welcome news. There have been encouraging results. Woodside Petroleum announced recently a light oil discovery in the Laminaria-1 well after drilling at a depth of some 3400 m in the Ashmore and Cartier Islands area. The oil column at Laminaria-1 was located between 3207 m and 3309 m. Testing will take place over the next 2 weeks to determine oil production rates and the commercial potential. The Laminaria-1 well is the first well drilled in the region under a joint venture involving Woodside Petroleum, which
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has a 50% holding, Shell Development and BHP Petroleum which each have a 25% holding. Laminaria-1 is the second oil field discovered in the Timor Sea this year. The first was Elang-1, now operated by BHP Petroleum. The oil flow at Elang-1 was 5800 barrels a day when discovered in February this year. The Elang field was the first discovered in the Timor Gap Zone of Cooperation which is administered by the Australia-Indonesia Joint Authority. The results are encouraging and we will be looking forward to the proving up of that well in the near future.
The Elang-1 and Laminaria-1 discoveries have been followed this week by appraisal of a natural gas reservoir at the Petrel 5 field in Bonaparte Gulf. Santos has reported the highest flow rate recorded from the Petrel field and it has revised the known boundary of the reservoir by 7 km to the north-west. I understand that that is a fairly significant extension of a field. The proximity of the well to Darwin - it is 250 km from Darwin - and the purity of the gas stream are positive outcomes. The Petrel 5 well is the first of 3 wells being drilled in the current program by a joint venture involving Santos, Sagasco and Bonaparte Gas and Oil. Bonaparte Gas and Oil is made up of Sumatomo, Osaka Gas, and Taekako Oil. The combined cost of the drilling program is $52m. Thus, it is a very expensive program and one that has shown some early, positive results.
After completion of the production test, the drilling rig will move to Tern 4 in the Tern field. The results of the drilling program will help establish the viability of future gas development in the region. Whilst these discoveries in the field are still not sufficient to establish an LNG plant in Darwin, the results are certainly positive. They are another step towards proving up sufficient gas reserves to lead possibly, as members would wish, to the development of an LNG plant in Darwin. In those terms, the results would be very welcome.
The Minister for Industries and Development and I will be leaving tomorrow week on a visit to Japan. These results will provide us with an opportunity to further pursue developments in relation to oil and gas in the offshore fields from Darwin with the companies with which we will be meeting in Japan. Thus, in asking this Question, the member was pursuing a matter of great interest and great potential to the Northern Territory. As I say, the results in oil and gas exploration activity offshore from Darwin are very encouraging.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is indeed welcome news. There have been encouraging results. Woodside Petroleum announced recently a light oil discovery in the Laminaria-1 well after drilling at a depth of some 3400 m in the Ashmore and Cartier Islands area. The oil column at Laminaria-1 was located between 3207 m and 3309 m. Testing will take place over the next 2 weeks to determine oil production rates and the commercial potential. The Laminaria-1 well is the first well drilled in the region under a joint venture involving Woodside Petroleum, which
Page 221
has a 50% holding, Shell Development and BHP Petroleum which each have a 25% holding. Laminaria-1 is the second oil field discovered in the Timor Sea this year. The first was Elang-1, now operated by BHP Petroleum. The oil flow at Elang-1 was 5800 barrels a day when discovered in February this year. The Elang field was the first discovered in the Timor Gap Zone of Cooperation which is administered by the Australia-Indonesia Joint Authority. The results are encouraging and we will be looking forward to the proving up of that well in the near future.
The Elang-1 and Laminaria-1 discoveries have been followed this week by appraisal of a natural gas reservoir at the Petrel 5 field in Bonaparte Gulf. Santos has reported the highest flow rate recorded from the Petrel field and it has revised the known boundary of the reservoir by 7 km to the north-west. I understand that that is a fairly significant extension of a field. The proximity of the well to Darwin - it is 250 km from Darwin - and the purity of the gas stream are positive outcomes. The Petrel 5 well is the first of 3 wells being drilled in the current program by a joint venture involving Santos, Sagasco and Bonaparte Gas and Oil. Bonaparte Gas and Oil is made up of Sumatomo, Osaka Gas, and Taekako Oil. The combined cost of the drilling program is $52m. Thus, it is a very expensive program and one that has shown some early, positive results.
After completion of the production test, the drilling rig will move to Tern 4 in the Tern field. The results of the drilling program will help establish the viability of future gas development in the region. Whilst these discoveries in the field are still not sufficient to establish an LNG plant in Darwin, the results are certainly positive. They are another step towards proving up sufficient gas reserves to lead possibly, as members would wish, to the development of an LNG plant in Darwin. In those terms, the results would be very welcome.
The Minister for Industries and Development and I will be leaving tomorrow week on a visit to Japan. These results will provide us with an opportunity to further pursue developments in relation to oil and gas in the offshore fields from Darwin with the companies with which we will be meeting in Japan. Thus, in asking this Question, the member was pursuing a matter of great interest and great potential to the Northern Territory. As I say, the results in oil and gas exploration activity offshore from Darwin are very encouraging.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016