Fossil Energy – First Gas
Santos announces that the BW Opal FPSO has received its first gas into the facility to commence production operations.
This follows the BW Opal reaching ready-for-start-up status on 16 September 2025 and the start of flow from the subsea wells. This is a major milestone for Santos and its Barossa joint venture partners, PRISM Energy Australia[1] and JERA Australia, in the delivery of the Barossa LNG project.
Santos is also pleased to report that all six wells drilled in the Barossa gas field have intersected excellent reservoir quality. Testing has been completed on five of the six wells, demonstrating outstanding flow capacity that exceeds pre-drill estimates, with expected average potential well deliverability of around 300 million standard cubic feet per day. This success underscores the robust capacity of the Barossa field to sustain long-term production.
Further, the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority has renewed the Environment Protection Licence for Darwin LNG, commencing 19 September 2025. This paves the way for first gas into, and start-up of, the Darwin LNG plant.
Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said: “RFSU for the BW Opal marked the formal transition from project execution to production operations, following RFSU for the Darwin LNG plant upon completion of the life extension work scope and the commencement of production from the offshore subsea wells.”
“First gas into the FPSO is an important step for the project and a credit to the hard work of our people and support from our partners. It puts us on track to deliver reliable energy to our customers and long-term value to our shareholders from Barossa LNG,” said Mr Gallagher.
