Name of the Project
Bayu-Undan infill development.

Location
In the Bayu-Undan field, in the Timor Sea, off the shore of East Timor.

Project Owner/s
Bayu-Undan Joint Venture (JV), a JV between oil and gas major Santos (43.4%), following the completion of a 25% sell-down to SK E&S, with Santos remaining the operator of the project. The remaining interests are held by SK E&S, INPEX (11.4%), Eni (11%), JERA (6.1%) and Tokyo Gas, (3.1%).

Project Description
The Phase 3C infill drilling programme comprises three production wells (two platform and one subsea) and will develop additional natural gas and liquids reserves, extending field life, production from the offshore facilities and the Darwin LNG plant. The wells will be drilled using the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up rig.

The programme will add more than 20-million barrels of oil-equivalent gross reserves and production at a low cost of supply, as well as extend the life of Bayu-Undan.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
$235-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The first well is scheduled to spud in the second quarter of 2021, and production from the first well is expected in the third quarter of 2021.

Latest Developments
Santos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as operator of the Bayu-Undan JV, with the Timor-Leste regulator Autoridade Nacional do Petróleo e Minerais (ANPM) to progress carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Timor Sea.

The MoU details the areas the Bayu-Undan JV and the ANPM, with the support of the Timor-Leste government, will work on to test the viability of repurposing the existing Bayu-Undan facilities and using the Bayu-Undan reservoir for CCS.

These include sharing technical, operational and commercial information, assessing the regulatory framework, evaluating local capacity opportunities and establishing a decision timeline.

“We believe [that] the Bayu-Undan reservoir and facilities have the potential to be a world-leading CCS project and we are delighted to be working . . . with the ANPM and the Timor-Leste government to progress this opportunity,” Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher has said.

“CCS is recognised by the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as being a critical technology to achieve the world’s climate goals. Santos’ experience with the globally competitive Moomba CCS project, in outback South Australia, will bring invaluable experience to the project.

CCS at Bayu-Undan has the potential capacity to safely and permanently store about ten-million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide and could build a new job-creating and revenue-generating industry for Timor-Leste.

“This has the potential to be a win-win – good for the environment, good for industry and opening up an exciting opportunity for the people of Timor-Leste – so we look forward to progressing this MoU in partnership with the ANPM,” Gallagher has said.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Santos media enquiries, James Murphy, tel +61 478 333 974 email james.murphy@santos.com.