Empire Energy receives environmental approval for Carpentaria pilot
Empire Energy Group Ltd. will increase activity at the Carpentaria Pilot Project in EP187 in Beetaloo basin, Australia, after the Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning, and Environment granted approval for the environment management plan (EMP).
Up to four new well pads will be established, and up to nine new wells will be drilled, fractured, and completed. The Carpentaria gas plant (CGP), water handling station (WHS), and gas and water-wastewater flowlines will be installed, and operations and maintenance will be performed for up to 12 gas wells including the existing Carpentaria-2H and Carpentaria-3H wells, new and existing well pads, the CGP, WHS, gas and water-wastewater flowlines and camps.
Gas will be transported through flowlines and the CGP to the McArthur River Pipeline for export to markets.
Following receipt of EMP approval, regulatory approval for the sale of gas under the Beneficial Use of Test Gas provisions of the NT Petroleum Act is the last remaining major approval required for the Carpentaria pilot project.
Carpentaria-5H drilling is expected to begin imminently (OGJ Online, Sept. 10, 2024). Ensign Rig #965 is now on location.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).