AWE Approves First Stage Development of Waitsia Gas Field in Western Australia

AWE Limited operated L1/L2 joint venture has made the Final Investment Decision (FID) for Stage 1A of the Waitsia gas field development project, located in the onshore Perth Basin, Western Australia.

Stage 1A comprises the installation of new infrastructure and upgrades to existing assets that will connect the recently flow tested Waitsia-1 and Senecio-3 gas wells to the Xyris Production Facility (XPF), AWE said Tuesday.

Treated gas from XPF will be delivered to the Parmelia pipeline for domestic consumption.

Engineering, execution and management costs for Stage 1A of the Waitsia gas project are estimated at gross A$17.5 million ($9 million net to AWE).

The initial capacity of XPF will be approximately 10 TJ per day, with further expansion possible, and first gas is scheduled for August 2016. A take or pay gas sales agreement, based on 90 percent of annual gas quantity, has been negotiated with Alinta Energy for 10 TJ/day over a two and half year period.

“When fully developed, AWE anticipates that production from the Waitsia Field could be increased from the 10 TJ/day of Stage 1A to more than 100 TJ/day, which represents approximately 10% of Western Australia’s daily domestic consumption,” Bruce Clement, AWE’s Managing Director and CEO, said.

AWE said the joint venture is also evaluating the potential for co-developing the nearby Senecio/Synaphea/Irwin (SSI) tight gas fields, he said. Together, these tight sandstone reservoirs are estimated to contain an additional gross 237 Bcf of gas.

AWE and Origin have 50 percent stake each in the joint venture.