Santos has officially received the final green light for its Barossa gas project, marking a significant step forward in one of its key energy ventures. With regulatory approvals now in place, the company is on track to begin production, with first gas anticipated in the third quarter of 2025.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) approved Santos’ environmental plan on April 22. This approval allows the company to begin extracting natural gas from the Barossa field, located roughly 285 kilometers north-northwest of Darwin.
As part of the project, Santos plans to drill up to eight subsea wells—six from three drill centers—with contingency plans for two additional wells. Gas and condensate will be collected via a subsea production system and delivered to a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) facility through a network of subsea infrastructure.
Initial separation of gas, water, and condensate will occur at the FPSO. From there, dry gas will be transported to the Darwin LNG (DLNG) plant for onshore processing, while condensate will be exported via specialized tankers.
The Barossa project has been divided into two operational zones:
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Operational Area 1 covers the Barossa field, including the FPSO, subsea network, and the starting section of the gas export pipeline.
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Operational Area 2 spans 500 meters on either side of the pipeline route, from the Barossa field to the boundary between Commonwealth and Northern Territory waters.
The approved Environment Plan outlines several key phases:
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FPSO arrival, hook-up, and commissioning
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Initial start-up leading to steady operations
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Ongoing operation of the FPSO and subsea systems
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Inspection, maintenance, monitoring, and repair (IMMR) activities
Hook-up and commissioning of the FPSO are expected to begin in the first half of 2025, taking about three months to complete. Once finalized, the start-up phase will kick off, lasting approximately four months before transitioning to steady state production, which is scheduled to begin in Q3 2025. Santos plans for continuous operations over the next 25 years.
Inspection and maintenance will be conducted regularly:
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Operational Area 1: Initial inspections during the first two years, with future schedules based on risk assessments.
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Operational Area 2: Inspections every three to five years, with findings used to guide future planning.
Each maintenance campaign is expected to last around 21 days.