CONOCOPHILLIPS vice president of operations David Boyle said the company is planning ahead for decommissioning of its huge Bayu Undan gas and light oil field, which has been fully in Timor-Leste’s jurisdiction since August 30 when the maritime boundary between the nation and Australia was signed into place in Dili. 

Speaking at last week's Timor-Leste Oil and Gas Summit he explained the aquifer-driven reservoirs were already seeing water rates decline across the wells.  

Bayu Undan provides the lion's share of income to the small nation, but despite the drop in earnings Boyle is hopeful the decommissioning work will provide jobs and local content opportunities.  

"Working early and jointly (with the government) is critical for maximising opportunities for local content," he said.  

"We are in the final phase of Bayu Undan we have complex models to predict when production will end."  

He said the gas and water rates being recorded confirmed ConocoPhillips' predictions.  

"The most critical piece of data is the volume of water that will be produced from each well… we've seen a decrease in water production these past few years and therefore know it's time to start planning for the next phase. 

Source: Energy News Bulletin

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