First Gas Achieved on BW Opal FPSO

BW Opal FPSO (Credit: Santos)

BW Offshore’s BW Opal FPSO has achieved First Gas on September 20, after successfully reaching Ready for Start-Up (RFSU) for the Santos operated Barossa LNG project on September 16, initiating 60% of the contractual dayrate under the charter.

First Gas represents a critical juncture in the formal transition from project to operations phase and demonstrates BW Opal’s readiness to deliver stable energy production.

The next milestone, Interim Performance Test (IPT), will increase the payable dayrate to 85%. The final milestone, Practical Completion (PC), will conclude the delivery phase, trigger 100% of the dayrate, and mark the commencement of the 15-year firm contract period, securing long-term revenues for the Company under the charter agreement.

The BW Opal FPSO, designed to process 850 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas and capacity of 11,000 barrels per day of stabilized condensate, will operate in the Santos operated Barossa gas field, located 285 kilometers offshore Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.