Page 10 - AsianOil Week 23 2022

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Santos to add rig to Cooper Basin operations,

signs new gas supply contract with Yara

PROJECTS & AUSTRALIA’S Santos and partner Beach exists in the region gas infrastructure that will
COMPANIES Energy will add a fifth rig to their operations in facilitate connections should a gas discovery be
the Cooper Basin with the intention of boost- made.
ing gas production and increasing supply to the NeuRizer, meanwhile, is expected to make
domestic market. The company said in a state- a final investment decision (FID) on its South
ment that its programme included optimising Australian urea fertiliser project by the end of
well connections in the region. With the use of the year, following the completion of a feasibility
another rig, Santos and Beach will deliver an study currently underway. The company said it
additional 15 terajoules of gas per day, which plans to produce low-cost, high-quality nitro- Santos intends
equates to about 14.2mn cubic feet (402,100 gen-based fertiliser for local and export markets.
cubic metres) per day of natural gas by the end The facility will initially produce 1mn tonnes per to invest around
of the year. year of urea and may expand this to 2mn tpy.
Santos intends to invest around AUD430mn Santos has also recently signed a new gas sup- AUD430mn
($300mn) in the Cooper Basin in Queensland ply agreement with Norwegian chemical com-
this year, the company’s CEO and managing pany Yara. The deal involves an agreement with ($300mn) in the
director, Kevin Gallagher, said in the statement. Yara Pilbara Fertilizers to supply natural gas to Cooper Basin in
“This investment will deliver more gas to the Yara’s liquid ammonia plant on the Burrup Pen-
domestic market, which is desperately needed,” insula in Western Australia. Queensland this
Gallagher said. “Recent domestic gas supply and The deal will begin in 2023 at the end of the
price pressures have been caused by a spike in current contract. Santos will supply 120 peta- year.
gas-fired power generation to back up renewa- joules (about 113.7bn cubic feet, or 3.22bn cubic
bles and to replace the 30% or more coal-fired metres) to Yara over the following five years.
power generation that has been offline or not The two companies have also agreed to explore
operating since early May.” decarbonisation opportunities in Western Aus-
In May, Santos acquired a 50% stake in the tralia, including development of carbon capture
ATP 2023 block in the Cooper Basin from and storage (CCS) capacity.
Bridgeport, which will hold a 30% share in the “Santos supplies around 40% of the State’s
licence. NeuRizer, formerly Leigh Creek Energy, [Western Australia’s] total domestic demand,”
will hold 20%. Santos will take on the role of CEO Gallagher said, “and we are committed to
operator and target the Toolachee formation ongoing investment in developing new gas sup-
with a three-well drilling programme. There plies in WA.”™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 10•June•2022