ABSTRACT

The Kipper gas field in Australia’s offshore Gippsland Basin has been in production since 2017 with two subsea wells in the initial development phase. With legacy fields from Bass Strait depleting, the Kipper Field plays an increasingly important role in the Gippsland Basin supply mix, where 100% of gas from the basin is sold into Australia’s east coast domestic market. The Kipper Unit Joint Venture (KUJV) partners are actively investing in field developments to responsibly manage the field and to secure reliable gas production into the next decade. The Kipper Field is unique as it is a Golden Beach Formation pressure depletion-drive reservoir. As such, the Kipper Compression Project, which was installed in 2024, will deliver the required infrastructure critical to maintaining plateau rates from the existing two production wells. Additionally, the KUJV partners have commenced planning a subsea infill well which, subject to final investment decision and regulatory approvals, is expected to come online in 2026, to accelerate and capture additional gas reserves. This effort has been underpinned by a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach which utilises new subsurface datasets, including 3D seismic acquired in 2020, to optimise this next phase of development. The Kipper Field is operated by Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd (32.5%), with partners Woodside Energy (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd (32.5%) and Mitsui E&P Australia Pty Ltd (35%).