Name of the Project
Barossa project to backfill Darwin liquefied natural gas (DLNG) plant.

Location
About 300 km north of Darwin, within Santos’ Northern Australia portfolio, one of the company’s core long-life, natural gas assets.

The project area encompasses petroleum permit NT/RL5 over the Barossa field and petroleum permit NT/RL6 to the south, over the Caldita field, to be developed as a potential future phase of the project.

Project Owner/s
Gas exporter and supplier Santos and its joint venture (JV) partners, SK E&S and JERA Co.

Project Description
The Barossa development comprises a floating production storage and offloading facility (FPSO), with six subsea production wells to be drilled in the initial phase, and supporting in-field subsea infrastructure and a gas export pipeline tied into the existing pipeline between Bayu-Undan and Darwin.

Barossa’s development will extend the operating life of the DLNG plant by more than 20 years.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
$4.3-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
First production from Barossa is targeted in 2025.

Latest Developments
Santos announced the arrival of the BW Opal FPSO vessel at the Barossa gasfield on June 15, marking a critical milestone on the path to first gas in the third quarter of 2025. The FPSO has since been successfully connected, and final commissioning activities are progressing to plan.

The FPSO is the production centrepiece of Santos’ Barossa LNG project. 

Santos and its JV partners have invested $3.95-billion on the project to date, which is now in the final stages of commissioning.

Five wells of the six-well programme have now been drilled, with the fifth well being prepared for flow testing. The final well is expected to be completed in the third quarter. 
Production from three wells can deliver full production rates at the Darwin LNG plant if required. The 262 km gas export pipeline and 123 km Darwin pipeline duplication are complete, in addition to subsea infrastructure required for first gas.

In addition, the Darwin LNG life extension work scope, in support of the Barossa LNG project, is on track to be completed early in the third quarter of 2025, with work now 90% complete.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
MODEC, and a consortium comprising TechnipFMC, Samsung Heavy Industries (FPSO) and INTECSEA (subsea infrastructure); Allseas Group (engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the gas export pipeline); and BW Offshore (construction, connection and operation contract for the FPSO).

Contact Details for Project Information
Santos (Darwin office), tel +61 8 8919 1900.