Santos takes FID on Darwin pipeline duplication project
Santos Ltd., operator of the proposed Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea, made a final investment decision (FID) to proceed with the Darwin Pipeline Duplication Project in the Timor Sea offshore Northern Territory.
The project aims to extend Barossa field gas export pipeline to the Santos-operated Darwin LNG plant and enable repurposing of the existing Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline for use in carbon capture storage (CCS) programs.
This decision is expected to increase Santos’ share of capital expenditure for the Barossa project by about $311 million.
Gas from Barossa field, which lies 300 km north of Darwin, is slated to replace current supply from Bayu-Undan in East Timor jurisdiction with first gas targeted for early- to mid-2025.
The CCS project could capture and store up to 10 million tonnes/year of CO2, the company said.
The Barossa joint venture agreed with Darwin LNG joint venture partners to terminate toll arrangement for utilizing the original Bayu-Undan to Darwin LNG pipeline, thus reducing operating expenses for Barossa.
FID on Bayu-Undan CCS is targeted for 2023.
Santos is working with the East Timor and Australian governments to establish regulatory frameworks to support future CCS operations.
Santos is operator of Bayu-Undan and Darwin LNG with 43.4% interest. Partners are SK E&S (25%), INPEX (11.4%), ENI (11%), JERA (6.1%), and Tokyo Gas (3.1%).