Woodside Energy (Australia) Pty Ltd (Woodside), as Titleholder under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009 (Commonwealth), proposes to undertake permanent plug and abandonment (P&A) activities of the Stybarrow development wells within offshore Permit Area WA-32-L. The petroleum activities include the P&A of ten subsea wells including production, gas injection and water injection wells and removal of all well infrastructure above the mudline.

The P&A activity will be conducted within Commonwealth waters approximately 55 km north-west (NW) of Exmouth, Western Australia, in water depths between 790 m – 850 m. The nearest point of the Stybarrow Operational Area to the mainland (North West Cape) is approximately 41 km. The Operational Area is defined by a 3,000 m radius around each of the drill centres for the Stybarrow production wells. This radius allows for the installation of a temporary mooring system for a moored semi-submersible MODU and cannot reasonably be reduced. The Operational Area includes a temporary 500 m radius exclusion zone around the MODU during the Petroleum Activity to manage vessel movements.

P&A activities are dependent on the availability of a suitable MODU. The earliest the preparatory and P&A activities may commence is Q4 2023. The permanent plugging of the Stybarrow wells within WA-32-L is required to be completed no later than the 30 September 2024, pursuant to Direction 1 of General Direction 833. It is intended the well infrastructure above the mudline will either be recovered using the MODU directly following the plugging of the wells, or alternatively may be temporarily wet stored and recovered using a project vessel as part the Stybarrow subsea infrastructure removal campaign. Removal of well infrastructure above the mudline may commence in Q1 2024 and is required to be recovered no later than 31 March 2025, under Direction 2 of General Direction 833. Following the completion of all prior activities, final recovery of all remaining ancillary equipment will be completed.