Beach is continuing its commitment to supply natural gas to the east coast gas market and, in June 2023, commenced consultation on Offshore Gas Victoria (OGV) Project activities in the course of preparing Environment Plans and an Offshore Project Proposal. The OGV Project consists of a number of activities that would occur in several phases subject to approvals.
The OGV Project is a continuation of Beach ’s previous Phase 4 and 5 projects and may contain up to 11 wells to be drilled over approximately two years. Beach’s program of work has been optimised to allow for the permanent P&A of five suspended wells. These wells are isolated from hydrocarbon zones and are managed in accordance with a Wells Operation Management Plan to ensure well integrity.
Suspended exploration wells are P&A when they are not suitable as future production wells due to limited gas prospectivity. Cement plugs will be installed within the well to permanently seal the well and isolate it from formations. A cement plug will be installed at or close to the seabed and all casings will be cut at least 2 metres below the mudline to ensure that the seabed is returned to the same condition prior to drilling (P&A). Debris in vicinity will also be surveyed and retrieved where feasible to do so.
The P&A of wells is often planned to coincide with the drilling of new exploration or production wells using the same drilling rig which is the case with the OGV Project.
The wells were drilled by previous lease titleholders, from 1985 through to the most recent well being drilled by Origin Energy in 2004. Beach and its joint venture partners acquired the retention leases and production licence, the wells and associated production assets from Origin Energy in 2018.
Although Beach is continuing development of natural gas in the Otway and Bass Basins, the suspended exploration wells are not suitable as future production wells. In addition, new exploration wells will be P&A shortly after drilling should results show limited prospectivity.
Cement plugs were installed to suspend and seal the wells. Since then, the wells have undergone routine monitoring and have met inspection criteria.
Although unlikely given the well construction method, if a leak was found during an inspection, the hydrocarbon volume and composition would be assessed in order to determine the required maintenance response or ‘plug and abandonment’ action.
No leaks have been observed from all suspended wells inspections to date.
Have questions or want to learn more about a project, contact us below:
| Phone | (08) 8338 2833 |
|---|---|
| community@beachenergy.com.au | |
| Website | www.beachenergy.com.au |
