Commissioning of Origin Energy’s New Zealand’s Kupe facilities has commenced with the wells being opened and the first gas and liquids being piped ashore to the gas processing plant at Hawera, North Island.
The project will make a significant contribution for the next 15-20 years to New Zealand’s gas supply needs, initially providing 10-15 per cent of the nation’s annual gas demand when at peak production, according to Origin’s upstream oil and gas executive general manager, Paul Zealand.
“Once fully commissioned, Kupe is also expected to produce up to 90,000 tonnes per annum of LPG – more than 50 per cent of the country’s demand – and it will significantly reduce the need to import LPG to meet New Zealand’s needs,” Mr Zealand said.
The offshore and onshore Kupe production system is now being bedded down through a commissioning period. Over the life of the project Kupe is expected to provide approximately 254 petajoules of natural gas, 1.1 million tonnes of LPG and 14.7 million barrels of light crude.
“We expect that full steady state production will be achieved in the next couple of months,” Origin’s major development projects executive general manager, Andrew Stock said
“Everyone who has worked to deliver Kupe during the past three and a half years has done so, paying particular attention to their own and their workmates safety, as well as the environment, resulting in a project with an outstanding safety record,” he said.
