New Sunrise concept study may lead to development
Woodside Energy Ltd. will begin a new concept selection study related to potential development of the Sunrise-Troubadour gas-condensate fields that lie primarily in East Timor waters.
The fields, discovered in the mid-1970s, lie 450 km northwest of Darwin and 150 km south of East Timor. They contain 2C contingent resources of about 5.3 tcf of gas and about 225 million bbl of condensate.
The study will include the potential for siting a gas processing plant in East Timor, a move long opposed by Woodside due to the perceived economic and technical challenges of constructing a pipeline crossing the Timor Trench and building a grassroots LNG plant in East Timor.
Woodside said recently, however, that it will consider elements for delivering and processing the gas in East Timor compared with sending the gas to Darwin for processing.
The advent of new technologies, including the potential for modular LNG, along with the increasing demand for LNG, has prompted the new study.
The study will incorporate and update previous technical work and cost estimates while also evaluating the socio-economic, safety, environmental, and capacity factors as well as strategic and security benefits of the various options.
While no timetable has been disclosed, Woodside said the study will be carried out expeditiously.
Woodside is operator of the Greater Sunrise joint venture with 33.44% interest. East Timor national petroleum company Timor GAP holds 56.56% and Osaka Gas Australia holds the remaining 10%.
