Talon Energy Ltd (ASX:TPD) and joint venture partner Strike Energy Ltd (ASX:STX) have received key regulatory approvals for the construction and commissioning of the Walyering gas field in Western Australia.
These approvals include the Part V works approvals, Pipeline Licence and the Environmental Plan (EP).
Strike is the operator and holder of 55% of EP447 while Talon Energy holds the other 45%.
The only approval remaining is the Safety Case, which will manage the safety systems for production operations, which is expected in the coming weeks.
Construction can begin
Issuing of the EP means that Walyering JV operator Strike can begin construction works based on its existing Safety Management System.
Strike expects construction will take around six weeks and as a result, forecasts that production and gas sales will begin during April.
It has also informed Talon that any minor risks to this startup schedule lie within the integration and connection to the APA-owned Parmelia Gas Pipeline and final quality assurances of the upstream facility.
Workover rig kept busy
The workover rig is being utilised on Walyering-5 before moving to Walyering-6 to install the production completions.
Solar array installation is progressing well and large amounts of fabricated equipment to construct the facility have already been mobilised to site.
Strike now forecasts that the gross upstream costs, including the production facility and well completions, are approximately $19.2 million, plus $3.8 million for the connection and metering to the Parmelia Gas Pipeline.
There have been cost increases for the well completions, the increased scope associated with improving facility reliability, and APA’s pipeline connection.
About Walyering gas field
The EP447 JV sanctioned the development of the 33 TJ/d and 250 bbl/d production facility at the Walyering gas field following successful appraisal of the field via the Walyering 5 and 6 well.
These delineated a gross 54 PJ of 2P Reserves and gross 32 PJ of 2C Contingent Resources plus ~0.8mmboe of associated condensates.
First gas sales are targeted next month with 36.5 PJ of gas sold to Santos-WA Limited on a firm basis over a period of five years.
The facility, which will be the closest source of gas to the major Southwest WA gas market and will be powered purely by solar and battery storage, enables Walyering to have one of the lowest emissions intensities for current WA domestic gas supplies.