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Coastal gas expansion ramps up

September 20, 2023 8:41 am in by
A Transocean rig has been booked for drilling off the coast (Transocean).

An Environment Plan for gas drilling at two Otway Basin sites has been released and feedback is open until September 30.

Lead proponent ConocoPhillips has already booked a drill rig for the projects that includes drilling wells in two basin sites of over two-thousand square kilometres in Victorian and Commonwealth waters.

One is 19km from Port Fairy at the titles western end and at its eastern tip is 36km (VIC/P79). The second project area is 45km from Cape Otway at its northern tip and is double the length of King Island where it its 28km from (T/49P).

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The fossil fuel giant ConocoPhillips is leading the project, but the ASX listed 3D Oil has a 20 per cent stake in the joint venture and its Executive Chairman Noel Towell is talking up the basins future gas production potential.

“3D Oil has long recognised the significant prospectivity of this underexplored area of the Otway Basin….one of the last places on the East Coast to potentially find significant gas resources,” he said.

Although the project is yet to be submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for assessment and potential approval, 3D Oil informed the stock market in July that a Letter of Award had been issued for the semi-submersible Transocean Equinox drill rig.

Its expected to arrive in the region in the first quarter of 2025, and is contracted to drill two firm exploration wells with an additional 120 days of optional drilling. The company says it wants the wells completed by 2028.

ConocoPhillips says it has “extended consultation on the proposed activity until 30 September 2023”, meaning people now have 10 days to provide feedback.

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“After which time we will pause consultation so we can collate a submission to NOPSEMA for public comment and assessment,” a company spokesperson said.

To view the project and Environment Plan click here.

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