AWE Ltd. announced Monday that it has commenced commercial gas sales from Stage 1A of the Waitsia gas project in production license L1/L2 in the onshore Perth Basin, Western Australia on time and within the approved budget of $13.6 million (AUD 18 million).

Stage 1A comprised the installation of new infrastructure to connect the Waitsia-1 and Senecio-3 gas wells to the upgraded Xyris Production Facility (XPF), which has a production capacity of 10 terajoules per day (TJ/d), following a successful commissioning. Gas is being delivered to the Parmelia pipeline with Alinta Energy taking up to a maximum daily quantity of 9.6 TJ/d under a 2.5 year 'take or pay' gas sales agreement.

Field operator AWE has shifted its attention to Stage 2, a full field development phase that would raise production capacity up to 100 TJ/d. The development concept selection process for Waitsia Stage 2 has begun and 2 new appraisal/production wells are planned to be drilled next year.

"The first gas sale from the Waitsia gas project represents a major milestone for AWE. The Waitsia gas field was discovered less than two years ago and we moved quickly to appraise the asset ahead of a final investment decision (FID) for Stage 1A in January ... This is the first step towards full field development of the Waitsia gas project, which will deliver significant revenue growth for AWE from 2020, and highlights the strength of our technical and operating capabilities," AWE’s Managing Director and CEO, David Biggs, said in the press release.

The L1/L2 joint venture partners are AWE (via subsidiaries), with a 50 percent operating interest, while partner Origin Energy Resources Ltd. owns the remaining 50 percent.

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