Kipper Tuna Turrum Project, Gippsland Basin

The Marlin B platform was installed as part of the KTT project. Image courtesy of ExxonMobil Australia.

The Marlin B platform and Marlin A platform are linked by a bridge. Image courtesy of ExxonMobil Australia.

The riser access tower, bridge-linked to West Tuna, will enable production from the Kipper field. Image courtesy of ExxonMobil Australia.

The KTT project is the biggest domestic gas development project on the eastern seaboard. Image courtesy of ExxonMobil Australia.

Production from the fields is exported to the existing Longford facilities. Image courtesy of ExxonMobil Australia.

Kipper Tuna Turrum (KTT) Project is a $4.5bn project located off the Victorian coast in the Gippsland Basin. The project includes the development of three offshore domestic oil and gas fields named Kipper, Tuna and Turrum, which are located in production licences Vic/L03, Vic/L04, Vic/L09, Vic/L10, Vic/L13 and Vic/L25, at a water depth of up to 110m.

Production from the Tuna and Turrum fields started in June 2013 and October 2013, respectively. The produced gas is exported via pipelines to the existing facilities at Longford. Offshore development works for the Kipper field have been completed. The field will start production in 2016, following the completion of the ongoing Kipper Mercury Removal Project and the Gas Conditioning Plant Project being developed at Esso’s existing Longford site, to enable the products from the field to meet regulatory requirements.

Up to 1,500 people were involved during the peak construction period. The project is expected to produce gas that will be sufficient for a city of around one million people for a period of 35 years.

KTT Project partners

The Turrum and Tuna fields are operated by the Gippsland Basin joint-venture (JV), which is owned by Esso Australia Resources (operator) and BHP Billiton Petroleum. The Kipper field is operated by Esso Australia Resources, which holds a 32.5% interest, while the other partners include subsidiaries of BHP Billiton (32.5%) and Santos (35%).

Details of the offshore fields

The Turrum field is estimated to hold one trillion cubic feet of gas and 110 million barrels of oil and gas liquids. The field is currently producing oil, while the produced gas will continue to be re-injected to the reservoir until the Longford Gas Conditioning Plant (LGCP) comes online in 2016.

Discovered in 1986, the Kipper field is estimated to hold 620 billion cubic feet of gas and 30 million barrels of condensate.

The Tuna field, which has been in production even before the start of the KTT Project, was further developed to produce additional gas and associated liquids. Certain modification works were conducted on the existing West Tuna facilities and the field started exporting gas from two new pipelines.

KTT Project development details

Development of the Kipper field involved the installation of two subsea wells, four coolers and a manifold. The facilities are tied back to the existing West Tuna platform by a new looped pipeline laid on the seabed to a riser access tower, which is linked to the existing West Tuna platform by a 50m bridge.

The host platform for the Turrum oil field is the Marlin B platform, which was installed as part of the project using the DB30 derrick barge. It is linked to the existing Marlin A platform by a 60m bridge.

Kipper Mercury Removal Project involves the installation of associated facilities within the existing plants at Longford to remove mercury from the hydrocarbon and water streams of the Kipper field. The field contains higher mercury levels (levels of 200-250 parts per billion) compared with the other two fields. Certain modifications to the Long Island Point facility in Hastings will also be conducted as part of the development.

Construction of the LGCP, which will process 400 million cubic feet per day of gas from the KTT fields, started in December 2013. Gippsland Basin JV is the developer for the $1bn project while the construction works are being performed by CB&I Constructors. The project is expected to generate 250 construction jobs.

Contractors involved

McDermott was the general contractor for the KTT Project. Wood Group carried out modification of the existing platforms and systems completion for the new riser access tower and Marlin B platform.

Trenching works were performed by CTC Marine Project, a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding, while heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) works were carried out by Dynac.

Prefabrication of the pipe spools was performed by Jurong Engineering, while the HBE95 surface coating for the spools and flanges was performed by AsClear.

Scaffolding services and offshore supervision activities for the project are being completed by Cape under a contract awarded in July 2011. The company was further contracted in July 2012 to provide additional services, including rigging, rope access, protective coatings, ultra high-pressure water blasting and insulation.

KTL Group supplied its KimPlasma slings, including KimGuard and KimFlex Wire Rope slings, as well as Crosby hooks and shackles for the KTT project.

Load-out of Marlim B’s four modules at McDermott’s Batu Ampar Yard in Batam was performed by SMIT using the Asian Hercules II crane.

OPC was involved in the mobilisation of the subsea flow base and assisted in fit-out of the subsea trees for the project. The subsea wells at the Kipper field were drilled by Diamond Offshore’s Ocean Patriot semi-submersible drilling rig.