Oil and IGas Production in the Australian Environment
Authors: Harrison C.R. , Gard R.J. , Edwardes R.J. 
Published: October 2008

The paper outlines some of the technical and logistical challenges that have been encountered recently in the Australian producing environment and details the solutions that have been developed to address these challenges. The topics covered include:

Management of Safety

A combination of engineering solutions and work attitude.

Trade Unions and Productivity

the environment, the problems and the solutions. Supporting Infrastructure - Isolation "Down Under"

New Directions

A change in organization culture, structure and work attitude.

Economic Development of Marginal Fields

Mini platforms, Monotowers and remote Subsea completions.

INTRODUCTION

Esso Australia Ltd (EAL) operates 13 offshore oil and gas: platforms in Bass Strait and two associated onshore plant complexes in a joint venture with BHP Petroleum (fig 1). Typically this operation produces 450 million SCF of sales gas, 60 kSTB1NGL and 365 kSTB of crude oil daily, representing 65% of Australia's current crude oil demand.

The majority of developed Bass Strait fields are in decline. The region has seen over 20 years of exploration and development and the outlook is for new fields that are one, or two orders of magnitude smaller than the early giants. In addition to this harsh weather conditions make development options costly in comparison to most of the world's oil producing regions. Other factors including government take and trade union activity also tend to discourage profitable developments.

The continuing challenge has been to find new and better ways to develop the remaining reserves more safely, reliably and efficiently. Recently many changes have been made which go part of the way toward meeting this challenge in the areas of safety, industrial relations, organization efficiency and the innovative development of small fields. This paper highlights some of the challenges, the initiatives taken and outlines several projects that have been able to proceed in the face of major oil price uncertainties.

MANAGEMENT OF SAFETY

A safety first approach is the cornerstone of Esso's philosophy in all aspects of its operation. The goal of the safety policy is to run the operation in such a way that no one is hurt in the work place and nothing takes priority over this goal.

Esso's safety record has always been amongst the best in Australia but the ongoing challenge has been to improve this record still further. A part of this drive has involved capital improvements to the production system. In the past 2 years 32% of capital expenditure has been allocated to safety related projects. Four of these projects represent major initiatives to enhance the safety of the Base Strait production system.

Platform Structural Upgrades.

In the late sixties, when the first five platforms were installed in Bass Strait, little local knowledge was available on the critical design parameters of soil strength and environmental loadings. Prevailing industry standards and best data were used. Measurements taken and experience gained in the early years of operation showed that actual conditions were more severe than had been predicted during design.