Woodside’s Gemtree offshore drilling plan open for comment

The Australian offshore safety regulator NOPSEMA has invited public comments for Woodside’s proposed Gemtree-A well drilling program.

NOPSEMA said that the drilling proposal for the offshore well was submitted on Monday, February 24.

Under the proposal, Woodside’s subsidiary – Woodside Energy Julimar Pty Ltd – proposed to drill a single exploration well, named Gemtree-A, within Permit Area WA-49-L.

The proposed Gemtree-A Well is located in Commonwealth waters in the Barrow sub-basin, about 142 kilometers off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia.

The closest landfall to the well location is the Montebello Islands, which are about 55 kilometers southeast and 47 kilometers to the Montebello Island Marine Park.

The proposed activity will involve drilling, formation evaluation, and permanent abandonment of one well. The well will be drilled using a moored semi-submersible mobile drilling unit with two or three vessels supporting the MODU during drilling activities.

According to the proposal, drilling of the exploration well is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2020 and take about 50 days to complete.

The timing of the start and duration of these activities is subject to change due to project schedule requirements, rig and vessel availability, unforeseen circumstances, and the weather.