Strike Energy Limited, acting on behalf of the EP447 Joint Venture, provided an update on the development of the Walyering gas field.
Strike has acquired several critical regulatory approvals, including Part V work clearances, a Pipeline License, and the Environmental Plan (EP), which will support construction and commissioning operations. Strike’s safety case, which will handle the safety systems for production activities, is the last remaining permission and is expected to be accepted in the following weeks.
Strike may now begin building work based on its existing Safety Management System, with construction projected to take around 6 weeks. Production and gas sales are scheduled to begin in April, subject to the completion of the link to APA Group‘s Parmelia Gas Pipeline and final quality assurances of the upstream plant.
Strike reported that the upstream facility is still mostly on budget, but costs have risen due to well completions, expanded scope related to strengthening facility reliability, and APA’s pipeline connection. According to Strike’s most recent estimate, the upstream scope is now $19.2 million, with APA’s scope growing to $3.8 million.
The workover rig is currently located on Walyering-5 before being relocated to Walyering-6 to install the production completions. The solar array installation is going smoothly, with a large amount of fabricated equipment to build the facility already mobilised to the site.
Following the successful appraisal of the field via the Walyering 5 and 6 wells, which delineated a gross 54 PJ of 2P Reserves and a gross 32 PJ of 2C Contingent Resources, plus 0.8mmboe of associated condensates, the EP447 JV sanctioned the development of the 33 TJ/d and 250 bbl/d production facility at the Walyering gas field. The first gas sales are scheduled for April 2023, with 36.5 PJ of gas supplied to Santos-WA Limited on a fixed basis over 5 years. The current gross cost of the wells and production facility is anticipated to be around $19.2 million, plus at least $3.8 million in connection and metering fees to the APA-owned Parmelia Gas Pipeline.
According to Strike, based on an annual average output of 33 TJ/d, the field’s overall fixed and variable operating costs are anticipated to be around $0.19/GJ. The plant, which will be the nearest gas supply source to the critical Southwest gas market and be powered entirely by solar and battery storage, will allow Walyering to have one of the lowest emissions intensities for existing WA domestic gas suppliers.
