Bass Kipper almost smoking [29apr06]

DEVELOPMENT of the giant Kipper gas field in Victoria's Bass Strait is a step closer after the Victorian Government yesterday granted the project a production licence.

Kipper is the largest undeveloped gas field in south-eastern Australia with a confirmed resource of about 620 billion cubic feet of gas and 30 million barrels of condensate.
That is enough gas to power a city of a million people for 15 years. The Kipper field was discovered by ExxonMobil in 1986, but the company and its partners, BHP Billiton, Woodside Petroleum and Santos, only struck an agreement to consider its development last year.

The granting of a production licence gives the project greater certainty, and the joint venture partners are expected to announce the start of the engineering and design process soon.

The development is expected to be relatively inexpensive at about $200 million because it will use ExxonMobil and BHP's existing infrastructure.









It is believed Santos and Woodside will market their own gas and pay a tariff for the use of the facilities.

ExxonMobil and BHP have long held a stranglehold over Victoria's rich oil and gas reserves in the Bass Strait.

Kipper will see the two companies open their infrastructure to other companies for the first time in what could be a model for future projects.

Gas from Kipper is likely to be sold to Victorian electricity retailers.

Victorian Energy Minister Theo Theophanous said the gas could be in Victorian homes as early as 2009.

"The production licence for this gas field will ensure that Victorian families continue to have a steady flow of gas at one of the lowest prices in the world," he said.

ExxonMobil and its partners are expected to make a final decision on the project by the end of this year.