West Barracouta – 50 years in the making

Abstract

This paper presents a case study on the value of combining existing ideas with new data to evaluate and determine the most effective way to extend the producing life of one of the first offshore gas discoveries in the Gippsland Basin. The holistic work approach resulted in the development of West Barracouta Top Latrobe gas by two dual-zone, subsea intelligent wells with sand control, tied back to an operating pipeline to minimise brownfields interface. Located in the Gippsland Basin, the Barracouta gas field was Australia’s first discovery, by the first offshore well, and soon after the first operating offshore facility. After more than 50 years of oil and gas production, new data gives further insight to support continuous improvement in reservoir management to optimise the resource to end of field life. Originally discovered in 1969, West Barracouta is separated from the main field by a fault-induced saddle point that left a substantial volume without an active completion. With the Gippsland legacy gas fields declining, the West Barracouta development is well timed to supply the Australian East Coast gas market with one of the last remaining low-CO2 gas sources and ensure additional security of supply. Incorporating reprocessed seismic data into the workflow delivered improved confidence in field definition, providing a foundation for a technology-driven development plan. This paper addresses the technical workflow that was implemented to support a fast-paced subsea development, robust against the range of possible geological scenarios.