ExxonMobil preparing for P&A campaign off Australia

July 13, 2020, by Nermina Kulovic

ExxonMobil’s environment plan for the plug and abandonment of Seahorse/Tarwhine wells offshore Australia is now under assessment by the Australian offshore regulator.

Noble Tom Prosser jack-up rig; Source: Noble Corp.

ExxonMobil will utilise the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up rig to permanently plug and abandon the Seahorse (SHA) and Tarwhine (TWA) subsea wells.

This campaign will take place in Production Licences VIC/L1 and VIC/L18 located in the Gippsland Basin of eastern Bass Strait.

The SHA and TWA wells are located 15 and 23 km off the Gippsland coastline respectively, south of Lakes Entrance in a water depth of about 43m.

The activity is expected to start in October 2020 and to be completed no later than October 2021.

It is expected to take approximately 30 days per well to complete P&A activities.

This includes rig positioning activities, dependent on weather, scheduling and well conditions.

Esso Australia Resources, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is the operator for the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture (Esso and BHP Billiton Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd (BHP)) and the Kipper Unit Joint Venture (Esso, BHP, and MEPAU A Pty Ltd).