Kipper

Location

The Kipper Unit straddles VIC/L25 permit and VIC/L9 permits, Gippsland Basin, in the coastal waters of Bass Strait, offshore south-east Victoria. 

Participants

Santos – 35%
Esso Australia – 32.5% (operator)
BHP Billiton – 32.5%

Discovered

The Kipper field was discovered in 1986.

First Production

First gas production is targeted for first half 2011.

Overview of Project

When developed, gas from Kipper will be produced from four subsea wells via a local subsea manifold tie-in point, separately operated by the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture. From there, the gas will be transported via the existing West Tuna platform for processing at the onshore Longford gas plant. 

Santos's share of the capital costs for stage 1A is A$140 million.  Following start-up, Santos will lift 70% of the gas production, which is twice its working interest, for a period of 4 years.

The project will be progressed in two major steps:

• Stage 1A: Initial Kipper gas development via two subsea gas wells and four subsea coolers
• Stage 1B: 2014 – a further two Kipper subsea gas wells
• Stage 2: 2016 onwards – new gas compression services at Gippsland Basin Joint Venture facilities.

Current Status

Project attention is focused on third party services/support contracts with subsea equipment engineering and procurement proceeding to plan.  First gas remains on target for first half of 2011.