NOPSEMA has opened public comments for Woodside’s proposed Scarborough Project development.
The oil and gas independent, which has a 75% stake in the development, is proposing to develop the remote gas resource through new offshore facilities with all subsea and subsea infield infrastructure and wells located in Commonwealth waters, 375km off the Burrup Peninsula.
The plan is for the 7.3Tcf to come reach the mainland t via a 430km trunkline and to be processed via Train 2 expansion of the Pluto LNG plant — after construction of a number of subsea, high rated gas wells, tied back to a semi-submersible floating production unit moored in approximately 900 metres of water.
The trunkline from the FPU to the onshore Pluto LNG facility will be the only part of the offshore development which traverses State waters. The location at which the trunkline will cross into State waters is about 20 km north-west from the shore and in water depths of 31 metres.
The proposed development of Scarborough is an integral part of Woodside’s Burrup Hub vision for a regional gas hub which will secure economic growth and local employment opportunities for Western Australia.
In addition to the development of the Scarborough and North Scarborough fields, the Thebe and Jupiter gas fields provide opportunities for future tieback to Scarborough infrastructure. As the proposed export trunkline route crosses the Carnarvon Basin, in close proximity to other undeveloped fields, Woodside is also engaging with other resource owners to explore opportunities for future development.
Woodside is targeting a final investment decision in 2020 and for start-up in 2023. Achieving these milestones is subject to all necessary joint venture approvals, regulatory approvals and appropriate commercial arrangements being finalised. The first drilling phase is targeted in 2020 followed by the installation of the trunkline in 2022, FPU installation in 2023 and phase 2 drilling (potentially including Thebe and Jupiter) in 2025. Decommissioning is expected to commence in 2055.
The project area includes three zones:
Offshore project area (the area covered by WA-1-R, WA-62-R, WA-61-R, and WA-63-R)
The trunkline project area (the proposed trunkline route with a 1 km buffer either side)
The borrow grounds project area (the proposed location for the borrow grounds from which stabilisation material from the export pipeline will be sourced).
Studies and reviews of the Exmouth Plateau and North West Shelf have been compiled and/or undertaken to provide an understanding of the physical, biological and socio-economic environmental conditions within the project area.
These studies contribute to long-term datasets for the region and the majority have been made available in the public domain.
The environment that may be affected (EMBA) by Scarborough is the largest spatial extent where unplanned events could have an environmental consequence on the surrounding environment has also been described.
The offshore project proposal has defined environmental performance outcomes for all receptors that may be impacted by the activity from planned and unplanned events.
