New oil and gas projects stimulate the economy, generate jobs and create tremendous opportunity for the energy industry. We take a look at three key Australian oil and gas projects which are currently in the pipeline.
1. Browse LNG project
Browse LNG project is a liquified natural gas facility being considered for the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. Located 425km north west of Broome, the facility will distribute gas from three fields in the Browse Basin: Torosa, Brecknock, and Calliance.
The $30 billion project is expected to create more than 3,200 jobs during the construction phase, and a further 1,300 jobs when operational. The field has a total estimated reserve of 13.3 trillion cubic feet of dry gas and 360 million barrels of condensate, and a projected lifespan of 40 years. Though investment in the Browse LNG Terminal has previously delayed the project, a final investment decision (FID) for this facility is expected in the second half of 2021.
2. Gorgon Stage Two
Located on Barrow Island, the $54 billion Gorgon LNG project is one of the world’s largest natural gas campaigns. The $5.1 billion second stage of the project will involve extending the current field infrastructure: two subsea pipelines with a combined length of 240km will be installed directly on the ocean floor in water up to 1,300m deep. An additional 11 wells will be drilled in the Gorgon and Jansz-lo gas fields, to ensure long-term natural LNG supply to Barrow Island’s gas plants.
Gorgon Stage Two will employ up to 700 people in late 2021 and potentially 1,400 over the course of the project, which is due for completion in 2023.
3. Arrow Surat Gas Project
Arrow Energy’s $10 billion Surat Gas Project (SGP) is the largest gas project to commence in Queensland since 2011. This project will expand the Surat Gas Basin, drilling 600 wells and constructing a 440km pipeline to the Hopeland Petroleum Lease in South-West Queensland.
The SGP project – a joint venture between Shell Australia and PetroChina – is part of a broader campaign to drill 2,500 new gas production wells in order to extend the supply of gas to Arrow's Daandine and Tipton processing facilities and Shell's QCLNG project to the west.
The project will create around 1,000 jobs across its 27-year lifespan, including 800 construction roles and 200 ongoing operational roles.
