Woodside proposes to undertake the following petroleum activities within Permit Area WA-49-L:
• Permanently plug for abandonment four wells: two production, one water injection and on gas injection well.
• Remove well infrastructure above mudline.
• Undertake inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) activities to ensure integrity of well infrastructure until decommissioning activities are completed.
Woodside propose to leave six Disconnectable Turret Mooring (DTM) anchors buried below the seabed in situ.
The proposed Petroleum Activities Program is scheduled to occur between 2022 and 2024.
• IMR activities will be ongoing, as needed.
• Preparation for permanent plugging, Xmas tree cleaning and pre-lay MODU anchors, is expected to take ~1 week for Xmas tree preparation and up to 3 weeks to also pre-lay MODU anchors. This is planned to be undertaken two to four months before permanent plugging in 2022-2024.
• Permanent plugging is expected to take 20 to 60 days per well (between 80 and 240 days for all four wells) and be undertaken between 2022-2024.
• Removal of well infrastructure is expected to take18-36 hours per Xmas tree and wellhead and up to four weeks for all infrastructure, including a seabed clearance survey. Removal of well infrastructure is planned to be completed by the end of 2024.
When ongoing, activities will be 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Timing and duration of these activities is subject to change due to project schedule requirements, MODU/vessel availability, unforeseen circumstances and weather.
The proposed Petroleum Activities Program is located in Commonwealth waters in the Northern Carnarvon Basin. WA-49-L is located approximately 169 km north west of Dampier and approximately 48 km north-west of the Montebello Islands. The water depth of the wells is approximately 135 m. The proposed Petroleum Activities Program does not overlap with any established or proposed marine protected areas. The closest protected area to the Petroleum Activities Program is the Commonwealth boundary of the Multiple Use Zone of the Montebello Australian Marine Park located approximately 3 km to the east of the boundary of the Operational Area, and the Montebello Islands Marine Park located ~36 km south-east.
