Big news down under

Australia’s Coogee Resources has petroleum interests that include 70.94% of the producing Jabiru and Challis oil fields and 100% of the Montara project comprising the Montara, Skua and Swift/Swallow fields. It also has an extensive exploration portfolio and identified drilling prospects in the surrounding waters of the Bonaparte Basin.

The Montara Project will be developed via an FPSO located at the Montara field with tie-backs to the Skua and Swift/Swallow fields via flowlines. The development plan involves nine producing wells, six drilled in Phase 1 (scheduled for completion in Q3 2008) and three in Phase 2 (scheduled for completion in Q3 2009). Facility construction began in July 2007 and development drilling is scheduled to commence in early 2008.

In January 2007, Coogee awarded the supply of subsea production trees and controls for the Montara field development project to VetcoGray, part of GE’s Oil & Gas business. The contract includes four horizontal tree on mudline (HTOM) systems, wellheads and control systems for subsea control modules, topside controls, and subsea distribution and instrumentation.

VetcoGray’s cost-effective HTOM systems will be the first of their kind installed in Asia Pacific or the Middle East.

Fast tracked

Calling for delivery within 42 weeks, the project involved the concerted efforts of four dedicated teams in Australia, Singapore, Scotland and England. A specialized Trees and Controls Team managed the project in Perth, working closely with Coogee personnel to bridge the geographic and time-zone boundaries.

The drilling program started with an exploration well in early December 2007. VetcoGray’s SG1 wellhead system, risers and associated rental equipment were delivered three weeks ahead of schedule to support an earlier than originally planned start date.

A second rig has been contracted to carry out the 2008 drilling and installation program. The first two wells, Skua 10 and 11, will be batch drilled and completed in early 2008 followed by completion and tree installation of the second pair of trees at Swift North and Swallow onto existing third-party wellheads. Further exploration wells are planned for 2008 and, if they prove successful, an additional tree may be installed in 2009.

Project status

The first pair of trees are being fully built and tested in Aberdeen, then shipped to Singapore for final testing and delivery. For the second pair, tree-head assemblies, chokes and valves are also being built and tested in Aberdeen, while tree frame manufacture, piping, unitization and testing will be completed in Singapore.

The manufacturing phase is well advanced. The first tree is in Singapore undergoing a site integration test. Delivery to Coogee of the first two trees is on track for February. Tests are also underway for the topside control system components, master control station and hydraulic power unit.

“We’re very proud to be involved in this project,” said Dave Tucker, Chief Operating Officer for VetcoGray. “Coogee is an excellent organization to work with. Obviously they liked our design, and I think it was clear that we had their best interests in mind from the start.”