Strike Energy, on behalf of its joint venture with Warrego Energy, has advised that civil construction works are nearing completion for the West Erregulla gas project in the Perth Basin, Western Australia.
The company reported that the conductor has now been installed, with the lease pad now ready to receive the first loads for the drilling rig as it mobilises over the coming weeks.
Upgrades have been completed on the Ensign 970 drilling rig and a pre-departure inspection has been carried out on the equipment.
The rig has commenced mobilisation from South Australia and first loads of equipment have started to depart for the West Erregulla 3 well site, with long lead items already in Strike’s Western Australia yard in readiness for deployment.
In June, the JV reported that it had agreed to a long-term contract with Ensign Energy Services for drilling services with the Ensign 970 rig.
The Ensign 970 is an ADR-1500 model rig with a hook load of 750,000 pounds, which has a proven track record of drilling wells of an equivalent depth to West Erregulla 2 in North America.
Looking forward, the company stated it would complete the mobilisation and setup of the rig and ancillary services on location in preparation to spud the well, which is expected to start in mid-September.
In addition, Ensign has identified that a third of its staffing requirements can work directly out of WA, with the remaining personnel from both Ensign and Strike to arrive 14 days before the commencement in order to comply with the COVID-19 quarantine requirements.
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