PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Santos has started operation of a fourth rig in the Cooper basin, as part of a drive to produce more natural gas to supply the east coast domestic market.
The company on Monday said that the rig will drill eight wells by the end of this year, starting with the Big Lake field, after which it will move to Moomba South.
The fourth rig meant that Santos will be able to drill nearly 90 wells in the Cooper basin this year, which is more than has been drilled in a single year since 2014.
“As Santos has become Australia’s lowest cost onshore natural gas developer, reducing development well costs by more than 40% in the Cooper since 2015, we now have the right cost base to invest in making the most of the vast discovered resource base of Cooper basin natural gas,” said Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher.
“Santos is breathing new life into the Cooper basin, which has been producing for more than 50 years and could still have its best years in front of it as we learn more about new geological plays and as drilling and production technology advances.”
Santos previously announced that production from Cooper basin was up 8% in the last quarter, owing to the strong performances from the recently connected wells.
The ASX-listed company is currently on track to supply some 70 PJ of gas into the east coast domestic market in 2018, which is nearly 13% of the expected demand.