Varanus Island Hub Operations
| Activity type | Recovery of petroleum using a subsea installation |
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| Activity subtypes |
Operation of a petroleum pipeline Drilling |
| Lifecycle Classification | Operation & Production |
| Submitted by | Santos WA Northwest Pty Ltd |
| Submission date | 25 January, 2022 |
| Subtype | Revision |
| Decision date | 30 June, 2022 |
| RMS ID | 6896 |
| Status | Finalised |
| Outcome | Accepted |
| Link to previously accepted EP | 4947 - Varanus Island Hub Operations |
| Contact |
| Location map (click to enlarge) | |
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The Varanus Island (VI) Hub in Commonwealth Waters consists of the John Brookes, Spartan and Greater East Spar (GES) gas fields in offshore Commonwealth waters on the North West Shelf of Western Australia. Production fluids from these fields are transported by subsea pipelines to the VI oil and gas hub (VI Hub) located in State waters.
The operation of the VI Hub in Commonwealth waters has been managed under the Varanus Island Hub Operations Environment Plan for Commonwealth Waters (John Brookes, Greater East Spar and Associated Facilities) (EA-66-RI-10003) accepted by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) on 11 September 2014. The EP was revised (five yearly revision) in August 2019 in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009 (OPGGS(E)R 2009) and accepted by NOPSEMA in July 2020.
This revision is made in accordance with Regulation 17(5) of the OPGGS (E) Regulations (2009) and incorporates the commissioning and operations associated with the single well Spartan gas field that will be tied back to the John Brookes wellhead platform (WHP) via a single flexible flowline and umbilical.
The environmental impacts and risks associated with the development drilling and installation activities associated with the Spartan gas field are addressed in the Spartan Development Addendum (EA-60-RI-10003.02). The Spartan Development activities covered in the Spartan Addendum consist of drilling the Spartan Development well, installation of subsea equipment and pre-commissioning activities to connect the new well to the existing John Brookes Wellhead Platform via a new flexible subsea flowline.
The Spartan Development well will be drilled in production licence WA-63-L. The Spartan Development activities are planned to commence in Q3 2022. Drilling activities are expected to take approximately 42 days and subsea installation and pre-commissioning activities approximately 25 days.
Summary - Activities and approximate timing:
Drilling and completion: commence Q3 2022, 42 days duration
Subsea installation and pre-commissioning: commence Q3/Q4 2022, 25 days duration
Topsides activities and commissioning (Undertaken under the VI Hub Operations EP): commenced Q4 2021