Project Profile
Location: Offshore Western Australia in the Bonaparte Basin, Australia
Production: 27,000 bopd
Water depth: 70 to 103 metres
Start-up Year: October 2007
Located offshore Western Australia in the Bonaparte Basin, Puffin is situated in the Ashmore Cartier Exploration Permit area of the Vulcan sub-basin on permit block AC/P22 and production license AC/L6. Situated in the waters of the Timor Sea ranging in depths of 230 to 338 feet (70 to 103 metres), the field produces light, sweet crude with an API of 43.8 degrees. About 435 miles (700 kilometres) west of Darwin, the Puffin field encompasses two sections, the Puffin North East and the Puffin South West locations. While AED Oil wholly owned and operated the project for some years, the company welcomed a partner to help cover costs of development. In March 2008, AED entered into a joint venture agreement with Chinese oil company Sinopec. Sinopec now owns 60% of the project and serves as the operator, while AED holds the remaining 40% interest.
Field Development: Phase I
A field development plan for Puffin was submitted in February 2006, and the Australian government approved the plan in April 2006 by granting a production license. Field development on Puffin was divided into two phases. The first phase of development on Puffin encompassed the North East sector of the field, pulling production from the Puffin-7 and -8 wells. Field development called for subsea installation of flowlines, umbilicals and a subsea manifold, as well as an FPSO.
The two production wells connect to a subsea manifold, then production is sent through a APL buoy/swivel to the Front Puffin FPSO. Converted from the Gerrita tanker by Keppel Offshore, the Front Puffin FPSO has the capacity to process up to 40,000 bopd, as well as lift up to 12 MMcf/d (340,000 cm/d) of natural gas and store 740,000 barrels of oil. Vanguard Oil & Gas handled the FEED on the project, while WorleyParsons conducted the conversion engineering. Moored in waters measuring 361 feet (110 metres), the vessel is held in place by an STP turret mooring riser system provided by Advanced Production and Loading. For offloading, crude oil is transported through a floating hose to a tandem-moored FSO. Production commenced from the first phase of development on Oct. 6, 2007. While initial flow rates were expected to reach 18,000 bopd, production reached 27,000 bopd within two days.
Field Development: Phase II
The proposed second phase of development on Puffin involves the South West portion of the field, and may tie-in production from other fields in the area. Plans call for multiple subsea wells, as well as another FPSO. In August 2007, an LOI was signed with MODEC for a fixed three-year lease with two one-year options on the Venture 1 FPSO. Previously stationed at the Elang/Kakatua field and the Skua field, the vessel is capable of producing 32,000 bopd and 6 MMcf/d (170,000 cm/d) of natural gas, as well as storing 750,000 barrels of oil. A converted tanker with an external turret that can be disconnected, the vessel will have to undergo only slight modifications to meet Puffin requirements. Additionally, the mooring, flowlines, umbilicals and risers from the Elang/Kakatua field will be redeployed on the South West Puffin development.
Talbot Tie-Back
Located on AC/RL1 retention license, the Talbot oil and gas field is 40 miles (65 kilometres) east of the Puffin field in waters ranging from 164 to 344 feet (50 to 105 metres) deep. The field was discovered by the Talbot-1 exploration well in 1989 and was delineated by Talbot-2 in 1990. With 49-degree API crude, both wells tested at rates upward of 5,000 bopd. Current development plans call for the field to be tied-back to the Phase II facilities in 2009 or 2010; and additional Talbot appraisal and development drilling is slated for the future. Other significant prospects in the permit block include Protea, which is northeast of Puffin-3, and Woodlea, which is east of Puffin-9. Additionally, with a relevantly new operator on board, field development plans may be expanded.
Decommissioning
By the end of 2015, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) started the decommissioning of remaining equipment from Puffin oil field in the Bonaparte basin in permit AC/RL11 in the Timor Sea offshore northern Australia. Sinopec will remove all the remaining wellheads and equipment from the shut-in field by early 2016. The plan is to mobilize a deepwater construction support vessel for the decommissioning with the job expected to take less than a month. Puffin field lies in 75-100 m of water about 255 km offshore. It was originally discovered by ARCO in 1972, but not developed until the late 2000s when AED was floated on the Australian Securities Exchange to take advantage of the then-high oil prices. AED drilled a number of wells that seemed to indicate Puffin field held a high volume of untapped reserves, estimated to be 100 million bbl, albeit in a complex geological setting. The company embarked on an ambitious floating production, storage, and offloading development (using the Front Puffin FPSO) and had planned to reach a production level of 30,000 b/d and potentially bring in a second FPSO to develop the southern part of the field as well as tie in the nearby smaller Talbot oil field that AED had acquired in 2007.
Operators:
Sinopec: Operator with 60% interest
AED Oil: 40% interest
Contractors:
Vanguard Oil & Gas: FEED contract
WorleyParsons: Conversion engineering
MODEC : FPSO