Progress made in preparations to repair ‘small defect’ found at Australian FPSO

Singapore-headquartered oil and gas company Jadestone Energy is getting ready to start repair work on a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the Timor Sea offshore Australia. The production from the FPSO has been shut in since a gas alarm was triggered a few weeks ago.

This gas alarm, which was triggered on 29 July 2023 within ballast water tank 4S on the FPSO Montara Venture, indicated possible communication with one of the adjacent tanks within the FPSO. As a result, production from the Montara fields was temporarily interrupted. The initial inspection pointed out the location of “a small defect” between tank 4S and oil cargo tank 5C.

According to Jadestone Energy, preparations to repair the 4S/5C defect have progressed in line with expectations. As a result, inspections in ballast water tank 4P have been completed, with two minor repairs to be carried out over the coming days, after which it is expected that tank 4P will be returned to service.

Furthermore, the oil in tank 5C has been offloaded into a shuttle tanker, and cleaning of the tank is well advanced, with a short inspection programme due to start later this week. In addition, the offload of the oil from tank 5C has permitted re-entry into tank 4S, with inspections now underway.

The Singapore-headquartered player underlines that it continues to engage with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) on the results of ongoing inspections, analysis, and near-term activities at the FPSO Montara Venture.

Regarding its reserve-based loan, Jadestone currently does not expect production at Montara to be shut in for more than 60 days, subject to ongoing inspections, identifying the cause of the 4S/5C defect, and implementing preventative measures.

Moreover, the company highlights that the defects encountered “pose no safety or structural risk, nor any risk of a hydrocarbon leak to sea” while adding that a further update on the progress of Montara activities will be provided during next week.

The Jadestone-operated and owned Montara project, encompassing three separate fields – Montara, Skua and Swift/Swallow – is located in the Timor Sea offshore Australia approximately 690 kilometres west of Darwin.