Name of the Project
Dorado oil and gas project.

Location
Bedout sub-basin, off the shore of Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Oil and gas major Santos (80%) and Carnarvon Petroleum (20%).

Santos is seeking interest from the market in nonoperated equity in Dorado and potentially other Western Australia oil assets.

Project Description
Dorado is an integrated oil and gas project that is planned to be developed in two phases.

Phase 1 development involves the production of oil and condensate through a wellhead platform (WHP), as well as floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO).

The selected concept of an FPSO and WHP allows for the optimal integrated development of the gas and liquids resource and retains sufficient flexibility to support future exploration success. Gas will be reinjected in the initial phase to enhance oil and condensate recovery.

Phase 2 will then develop the significant natural gas resources in the Bedout sub-basin and provide future backfill supply to Santos’ current Western Australia domestic gas infrastructure assets.

Dorado is expected to have an initial gross oil production rate of between 75 000 bbl/d and 100 000 bbl/d of high-quality crude, which is expected to earn a premium to regional pricing benchmarks.

Potential nearby tie-in opportunities, starting with the Pavo and Apus prospects, to be drilled early next year, could be easily tied back into the Dorado infrastructure and materially increase the value of the project.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Phase 1 has an estimated gross capital cost of about $2-billion, assuming a purchased FPSO.

Planned Start/End Date
A final investment decision for the Dorado project is targeted for mid-2022, with first production scheduled for 2026.

Latest Developments
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority has accepted Santos' offshore project proposal (OPP) for the Dorado development.

With the grant of a production licence in April 2022, the project now has the primary regulatory approvals in place to support development.

“Our focus now is to finalise the concept for an integrated liquids and gas development and obtain the remaining approvals required to support a final investment decision,” Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher has said.

The accepted OPP covers approval to undertake the Dorado Phase 1 liquids development, including the reinjection of gas to enhance resource recovery, as well as tie-back future resources within the ‘project area’ covered by the OPP to augment Dorado production.

This means proximate resources, such as the recently discovered Pavo field, could potentially be tied-back and produced using the Dorado FPSO vessel.

The Dorado and Pavo fields combined are estimated to contain gross 2C contingent resources of 189-million barrels of liquids and 401 PJ of gas, with Santos’ share amounting to 147-million barrels and 320 PJ, respectively.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Altera (engineering) and Sapura Energy (FEED contract).

Contact Details for Project Information
Santos investor enquiries Andrew Nairn, tel +61 8 8116 5314 or email andrew.nairn@santos.com.
Santos media enquiries James Murphy, tel +61478333974 or email james.murphy@santos.com.