Santos Extends Productive Life of Greater East Spar Field

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Santos Extends Productive Life of Greater East Spar Field

Santos Ltd. has started up the Halyard-2 infill well, maintaining production in the Greater East Spar field offshore Western Australia as Halyard-1 has been depleted. Halyard-2 will send an incremental 65 million standard cubic feet a day of natural gas to Valarus Island for processing via an existing pipeline, according to an online statement by […]

Santos Ltd. has started up the Halyard-2 infill well, maintaining production in the Greater East Spar field offshore Western Australia as Halyard-1 has been depleted.

Halyard-2 will send an incremental 65 million standard cubic feet a day of natural gas to Valarus Island for processing via an existing pipeline, according to an online statement by the Australian gas and oil company.

The well “is a valuable short-cycle capex project, delivering incremental low-cost volumes into the portfolio through to 2027, and supporting a reduction in unit production costs in 2025”, Santos said.

Santos initially planned to drill a sidetrack to Halyard-1, which started production 2011, but opted for a complete replacement due to technical challenges, according to the Environment Plan for Halyard-2 published on the website of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.

According to the plan Santos would also disconnect the existing Halyard-1 Christmas tree production tie-in and install a long-term cap.

Halyard-2 will convert about nine million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) of sales gas and condensate to proven and probable (2P) developed reserves, Santos said.

A day earlier it updated its reserve figures, reporting 2P volumes of 1.56 billion boe as of year-end 2024.

“While additions across a number of assets provided an organic reserves increase of 15 mmboe, there was a 30 mmboe reduction arising from the sale of a 2.6 percent interest in PNG LNG to Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited”, Santos said.

Gas comprised 84 percent of the total figure, with the rest liquids. Overseas assets accounted for 41 percent of Santos’ year-end 2P reserves.

Meanwhile 2P contingent resources grew to 3.34 billion boe.

Santos added, “We continue to hold 2P CO2 [carbon dioxide] storage capacity of 9 million tonnes and 2C contingent storage resources increased by 47 million tonnes to 178 million tonnes in the Cooper Basin”.

In another project, Santos said Wednesday the Barossa field development is 91 percent complete and on track to start producing gas in the third quarter. Santos reached a positive final investment decision on the project 2021, securing a new source for Darwin LNG. Barossa is expected to extend the liquefaction facility’s life for around 20 years.

“Final welds on the Darwin Pipeline Duplication are underway today and when complete will connect the Barossa field to the Darwin LNG plant”, said managing director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher. “Three wells are drilled and completed. The fourth well is partially drilled and suspended for later completion. Production from these four wells can deliver nameplate capacity, materially derisking the project”.

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