MONTARA VENTURE

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Production restart after more than six months

The 'Montara Venture' has resumed its production on March 21, 2023, more than six months after it was forced to shut down production, following an oil leak. The repair of the vessel had faced numerous delays and challenges in the restart process that began in June 2022. The production recommenced from the H6 well on the Montara field with further wells to follow, including the first Skua subsea well which was to be brought online in the coming days. Jadestone completed an interim repair and subsequent restart of production, while they were working on a permanent repair to the tank. During preparations for that repair, an additional internal defect in a water ballast tank was also identified, which too required repairs. The company suffered problems associated with weather and delays in obtaining materials. They expect that production rates will increase with the systematic opening of additional wells, in line with the company?s restart plan. However, they have deferred from issuing production guidance for 2023 until the output of the 'Montara Venture' has been stabilized.

No date for the resume of production yet

The Jadestone Energy still does not have a target date to resume production with the 'Montara Venture'in the field located approximately 420 miles northwest of Darwin. The company was forced to suspend production a month ago after experiencing the second problem with the vessel’s operations in a month and earlier problems that led to regulatory oversight. The Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority on sep 12 issued a general direction to the company, which requires that Jadestone engage an independent reviewer to undertake a gap recognition review, and assure Jadestone’s remediation plans and operational readiness before the restart of production operations. The regulators will review the independent reviewer’s report before the restart of production through the FPSO. On Aug 12, Jadestone had discovered more defects on the 'Montara Venture' and had suspended production. It was the second time in recent weeks that problems had been identified the operator reported a leak in a tank that resulted in an oil spill around the vessel in June. In August the company said that it expected it would cost $2 to $4 million to complete repairs and that production would be suspended potentially through September 2022. The FPSO has experienced a series of problems since its commissioning. In January the production had to be reduced following an engine failure in the gas reinjection compressor. Then in June, a small leak of oil from one of its tanks was detected. Despite an interim repair and subsequent restart of production, Jadestone has been working to complete a permanent repair to the tank. During preparations for the repair an additional internal defect in a water ballast tank was also detected. The regulators issued the company with a prohibition notice following the oil spill in June. While they undertook an investigation and were reportedly satisfied that Jadestone had addressed the immediate risk of any further spill, the authority said it would be monitoring the facility closely.

Oil spill during transfer

There was an oil spill on June 17, 2022, from the 'Montara Ventur' at the Jadestone's Montara field during a crude oil transfer between two oil tanks onboard the floating production tanker, forcing the company to shut down the production from the offshore field. Oil was observed on the surface of the sea adjacent to the FPSO, during the transfer. Transfer operations were ceased immediately and production from the Montara fields was shut in as a precautionary measure. The release of oil to sea was quickly halted by pumping water into the tank, which indicated a leak somewhere at the tank base. A subsequent inspection using an ROV confirmed a small 30mm diameter hole in the bottom of the tank. Having controlled the release of oil, the next step will be to apply a temporary repair in order to remove the remaining oil from the tank. Following this, the tank will be accessed and cleaned in order to complete an inspection and permanent repair. The volume of released oil was estimated at three to five cubic metres, which was monitored and had fully dispersed by the morning of June 19. Jadestone expected to complete the tank inspection and repairs in about four weeks, and the cost of securing the leak site and permanent repairs was estimated at US$2-3 million. Jadestone was working with the class inspector, NOPSEMA and other stakeholders to develop and execute a plan to safely and permanently repair the hole in the crude oil tank.