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Conoco modifies Browse drilling plans
CONOCOPHILLIPS has once again applied for approval to drill up to eight wells in Western Australia?s Browse Basin after tightening its environmental controls, including oil spill contingency plans.

Conoco modifies Browse drilling plans


CONOCOPHILLIPS has once again applied for approval to drill up to eight wells in Western Australia?s Browse Basin after tightening its environmental controls, including oil spill contingency plans.
The company was originally planning to begin the campaign across WA-314-P, WA-315-P and WA-398-P in March, however, its original application, lodged in November, hit a snag with the federal Environmental Department insisting on a full environmental review.

The department decided the proposed drilling was in fact a ?controlled action? and thus subject to a more detailed assessment process.

Conoco lodged a new application on Tuesday consisting of 70 pages compared to the original 53 pages to incorporate additional attachments, providing a summary of the company?s oil spill response and equipment.

In the submission, Conoco said it had committed to oil spill response capabilities which went beyond standard Australian industry practices to mitigate the likelihood of impact on any matters of environmental significance.

It added the oil spill contingency plan was internally and externally peer-reviewed following the Montara and Macondo incidents and addressed all aspects of oil spill emergency management and response for the campaign.

?COP?s [ConocoPhillips] spill response strategy provides both immediate response capabilities and sufficient in-field equipment and trained personnel to contain and clean up smaller spills, as well as ?hold the line? until additional Tier 2 or Tier 3 oil spill response resources arrive in the unlikely event of a longer-term uncontrolled flow.?

The company also said it now planned to drill 7 kilometres east of the Seringapatam Reef and 12km northeast of Scott Reef, with the well locations located more than 50km away from recognised migration routes for threatened species and more than 160km away from any recognised cetacean resting, breeding and feeding areas.

In its original application, Conoco was planning to drill in an area about 2.9km from Seringapatam Reef.

?ConocoPhillips employs stringent wells and operational excellence processes to reduce operational and drilling risks,? the company said.

?The combination of these high operating standards and the strong adherence to the drilling practices, coupled with the added commitment of dedicated first-strike oil spill response capabilities and further access to regional and international resources, provides a solid plan to mitigate risks associated with the Browse exploration drilling campaign.?

Conoco holds a 60% interest in WA-315-P and WA-398-P, with Karoon Gas holding the remaining 40%. Karoon also holds a 90% stake in WA-314-P while ConocoPhillips has a 10% interest.

In a recent investor presentation, Karoon said it expected a government decision on the program in June.

The campaign is expected to take two years to complete with each well expected to take 95-120 days to drill and evaluate. Additional time may also be required if production testing is carried out. The first two wells are expected to be Zephyrus-1 and Boreas-1.

The Browse quest is to firm up reserves that could lead to an Australian LNG project.


Wednesday, 18 May 2011
energynewspremium.net
http://www.energynewspremium.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=2391648