Origin Energy’s CBM to LNG project almost complete

Origin Energy has reported strong production during Q1 2014, as the company’s coalbed methane (CBM) to LNG project nears completion.

The company produced 32.4 petajoules equivalent (PJe) and sales revenue of AU$ 253 million. Production increased 10% compared to Q1 2013, while sales revenue was up 27%.

The company said that the increases were primarily due to increased contributions from the Australia Pacific LNG project, which converts CBM to LNG.

Origin CEO for Upstream, Paul Zealand, said: “Origin’s strong production performance can be attributed to increased contributions from Australia Pacific LNG and [offshore LNG project] Otway, where production began from the Geographe 2 well in July 2013.”

Origin CEO for LNG, David Baldwin, said that the Australia Pacific CBM to LNG project “remains on track to deliver first LNG in mid-2015 with the upstream component approximately 67% complete and the downstream component approximately 68% complete.”

CBM to LNG project

The Australia Pacific LNG project is a CBM to LNG project, which is being developed by Origin, as well as ConocoPhillips and Sinopec. The project holds Australia’s largest CBM reserves and is the leading producer of CBM in Australia.

Origin operates the following Queensland CBM facilities on behalf of the Australia Pacific LNG project:

• Peat
• Rolleston
• Spring Gully
• Strahblane
• Talinga
• Taloona
• Yellowbank

The project is set to be a significant source of investment through to 2020, creating around 10,000 jobs throughout the life of the project.

Origin is responsible for construction and operation of the project’s CBM fields and main gas transmission pipeline. The company has been working in the CBM industry for almost 20 years.

In January, Origin announced that it increased its cash contribution to the project to AU$ 1.4 billion.

Ironbark CBM project

Origin has also been looking to develop its wholly-owned Ironbark CBM project. The Ironbark project is a CBM resource development project proposed for the company’s Ironbark tenement. The project is located in south-central Queensland to the north and west of the town of Tara, approximately 300 km west of Brisbane.

The project remains in the exploration and appraisal stage of development. As the company evaluates the business potential of Ironbark, it is currently operating a small number of pilot wells, appraisal wells and monitoring wells.

Origin prospects

In a report, Origin said that it continued to progress its four key priorities of improving the performance of existing businesses, delivering on the Australia Pacific LNG project, managing funding and balance sheet position, as well as creating growth opportunities.

Edited from various sources by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/cbm/30042014/origin_energy_releases_q1_report_cbm22/