Geographe field starts production

Origin Energy announced that the VIC/L23 joint venture has commenced production from Otway Gas Project's newly developed Geographe gas field in Bass Strait following commissioning and testing. Otway Gas Project consists of two offshore gas fields, Geographe and Thylacine, and an onshore gas processing facility near Port Campbell in south-west Victoria.

The Geographe gas field is located in Victorian coastal waters 55km south of Port Campbell and 15km north of the Thylacine offshore platform. As part of the development of the joint-venture Geographe gas field, development well drilling was carried out, and subsea facilities to connect Geographe to Otway Gas Project's existing subsea pipeline were installed. In addition, the project's onshore facility, Otway Gas Plant, was upgraded to accommodate a 50% increase in its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage capacity.

Origin CEO, Upstream, Mr Paul Zealand said, "Since 2007, Otway Gas Project has played an important role in meeting southern Australia's demand for natural gas, LPG and condensate. The development of Geographe enables gas production to Otway Gas Plant to be maintained, ensuring the project continues to make a major contribution to Victoria's energy security. Production from Otway Gas Plant is equivalent to 22% of Victoria's domestic gas demand.

"The commencement of production from Geographe also supports Origin's other energy investments in the region including the State's largest gas-fired power station at Mortlake as well as our position as one of Victoria's largest energy retailers," Mr Zealand added.