Santos has awarded Altera Infrastructure a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the Dorado project, located in the Bedout Sub-basin, offshore Western Australia.
Under the terms of the contract, Altera will deliver the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility for the Dorado project.
The current FPSO contract comprises engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and testing of the facility.
Dorado is an integrated oil and gas project, planned to be developed in two phases.
In June this year, the project has entered the (FEED) phase, which involves numerous work-fronts including the award of contracts for the FPSO and WHP.
The initial development phase includes production of oil and condensate through a well head platform (WHP) and FPSO.
Early phase will see gas reinjection for enhanced oil and condensate recovery, followed by a planned gas production in future to backfill the domestic gas infrastructure in the region.
Santos managing director and chief executive officer Kevin Gallagher said: “This contract is an important milestone for the project and Altera brings extensive FPSO design and operations expertise to the development.
“The FPSO design will provide for the integrated development of both the liquids and the gas resource and retains sufficient flexibility to support future nearby exploration success. A contract for the design, supply and installation of the WHP will be awarded soon.”
The contract is anticipated to commence with full definition engineering by Altera to confirm the technical requirements for the FPSO and related detachable mooring system.
The project is backed by a Federal Government approved Australian Industry Participation Plan.
Santos owns 80% ownership interest in the Dorado project and serves as the operator, while the remaining stake is held by Carnarvon Petroleum.
Altera Infrastructure Production president Chris Brett said: “We thank Santos for putting their confidence in Altera and are eager to apply our over 30 years of FPSO competence and experience during FEED to deliver an FPSO design that meets the needs of the Dorado development while also bringing forward the latest emission reducing solutions in line with our vision to lead the industry to a sustainable future.”
Earlier this month, Oil Search has accepted Santos’ revised merger proposal that values each of the former’s shares at A$4.29 ($3.15) or A$8.4bn ($6.2bn) for 100% of its shares.
