Exxon Mobil Decides To Develop West Barracouta Gas Project

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) said Dec. 12 that it has made a final investment decision to develop the West Barracouta gas field in Bass Strait to bring new gas supplies to the Australian domestic market. The project, located in the VIC/L1 block offshore Victoria, is part of the company’s continuing investment in the Gippsland Basin.

The company recently completed FEED work for the project, which is part of the Esso-BHP Gippsland Basin Joint Venture (JV), and awarded contracts to Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, a Schlumberger company. The project will be tied back to the existing Barracouta infrastructure offshore in Bass Strait, the first offshore field ever discovered in Australia.

“We continue to use advanced technology, along with our extensive, decades-long understanding of the Gippsland Basin, to ensure full potential of the resource can be realized,” said Neil W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Production Co. “Our objective is to produce West Barracouta gas for the Australian domestic gas market by 2021.”