Jadestone in final stages of Montara operatorship transfer

Jadestone Energy is still working on transfer of operatorship of the Montara oil field, following the acquisition of the Australian asset from Thailand’s PTTEP last year, which is expected to be completed in 3Q 2019. 

Namely, Jadestone completed its acquisition of the Montara oil project from PTTEP last September.

With completion, PTTEP transferred a 100% legal and beneficial interest in the Montara assets and a 99% legal and 100% beneficial right, title, and interest in the associated production licenses AC/L7 and AC/L8.

It was agreed that the remaining 1% legal interest in the Montara Titles would be held on trust by PTTEP, in favor of the company, until Australian regulatory approvals relating to the transfer of operatorship of the Montara assets from PTTEP to the company, are obtained from The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

Jadestone said on Thursday it continues to make good progress toward transfer of operatorship, with acceptance of the new safety case by the Australian regulator the only remaining requirement.

Jadestone noted it is in the final stages of the acceptance process and is working through the last few remaining points by providing further written clarification. The company anticipates formal transfer of operatorship in 3Q 2019.

According to the company, there continues to be no adverse impact to ongoing operations or production guidance, with Jadestone personnel seconded into key operational leadership positions, under the seller’s approved safety case. A number of changes have already been implemented, reducing opex by circa $20 million on an annualized basis.

Improvements in uptime performance also continue, the company said. Notwithstanding temporary disruptions from the ongoing riserless light well intervention (RLWI) campaign – which started earlier in June – and weather-related downtime in April, uptime is currently similar to the first quarter.

Jadestone’s RLWI campaign on Montara is continuing as planned, with the objective of restoring gas lift to the Skua-11 and Swift-2 wells, perforating additional sands in the Swallow-1 well, and unlocking new heel volumes in the Skua-11 well.

The Montara field is located in the Timor Sea off Australia approximately 690 kilometers west of Darwin. It comprises three separate fields which are Montara, Skua and Swift/Swallow, produced through a centralized FPSO, the Montara Venture, which will be transferred to Jadestone on completion of the acquisition.

Jadestone also added that progress continues across the company’s portfolio including production from the Stag oilfield, with continued strong performance from the recent 49H infill well, and the company continues to advance negotiations towards development of Nam Du/U Minh, offshore Vietnam.

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