Australian companies Woodside and BHP have agreed to align their participating interests across the WA-1-R (Scarborough) and WA-62-R (North Scarborough) titles containing the undeveloped Scarborough gas field.
The alignment will result in Woodside holding a 73.5% interest and BHP holding a 26.5% interest in each title. According to Reuters, Woodside previously held a 75% stake in the W-1-R permit, while the W-62-R was held 50% each by BHP and Woodside.
Woodside and BHP have also agreed to apply for Production Licences in respect of both titles. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals.
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said that aligning these interests will support the development of the Scarborough field across the two titles and demonstrates the strong commitment of the joint venture to making a final investment decision this year.
FID in 2020
"This is a world-class Australian resource. The Production Licence applications are another key step to unlocking the full value of the Scarborough resource through the expansion of our existing Pluto LNG facility," Coleman said.
The Scarborough field contains an estimated contingent resource (2C) dry gas volume of 11.1 Tcf (100%; 8.2 Tcf Woodside share, calculated using deterministic and probabilistic methods).
Woodside is targeting a final investment decision in 2020 for the Scarborough development and first cargo in 2024.
Due to Scarborough's reservoir characteristics and close proximity to Woodside's Pluto LNG facilities, Woodside has said its preference is to process Scarborough gas through a brownfield expansion of Pluto LNG, adding a second LNG processing train.