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%

Project Overview

The Kipper field was discovered in 1986, and sanctioned in December 2007. 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.

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

Drilling of Kipper A2 and Kipper A4 wells were nearing completion at the end of June 2010.  The project schedule is being updated while the offshore installation program is being optimised.

First Production

The operator's estimate of first gas production is second half of 2011.