Woodside has moved to the pre-front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) phase for its A-6 gas development offshore Myanmar. Located in Block A-6 in 2,300-m (7545.9-ft) water depth, the project will become the first ultradeepwater development project for any of the 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippins, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam).
The A-6 development concept includes the drilling of up to 10 ultradeepwater wells (6 wells in Phase 1 and up to 4 additional wells in Phase 2) in 2,000 to 2,300-m (6561.6 to 7545.9-ft) water depth. The wells would be linked to a subsea gathering system routed up to the continental shelf slope to a shallow-water processing platform. The gas would then be exported via a 240-km (149.1-mi) pipeline to a riser platform located near the Yadana platform complex in the Andaman Sea.
Pre-FEED work on the project will involve site surveys and engineering studies, as well as permitting approvals. Phase 1 entails the use of a fixed processing platform at 100-m water depth. The gas produced from the 6 wells scheduled to be utilized in this phase will be exported via pipeline to Thailand. That gas will also supply the domestic market through a pipeline to Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.
“The Block A-6 joint venture and the Government of Myanmar have agreed to a fiscal framework that will enable commercialization of Myanmar’s first ultradeepwater resource. It will generate a significant long-term revenue stream for the country,” Meg O’Neill, Woodside’s executive vice president of development, said in a statement.
Woodside also announced it has signed various amendments and supplementary agreements to the production sharing contract for Block A-6, providing a fiscal framework for the project to achieve economic viability.
Woodside said it is targeting FEED entry for the A-6 development in the second half of 2020.