SK Innovation E&S begins production at Australian gas field
A floating production, storage and offloading facility at the Barossa gas field in Australia / Courtesy of SK Innovation E&S
SK Innovation E&S, the energy unit of Korea's SK Group, said Tuesday it has begun production at an offshore gas field in Australia in which it invested 14 years ago.
The initial cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced at the Barossa gas field, located about 300 kilometers off Australia's northwestern coast, has been transported to the nearby Darwin LNG terminal and shipped to Japan, the company said in a press release.
The milestone marks the first time a Korean private-sector company has achieved LNG production through an overseas resource development project.
Starting with the initial output, SK Innovation E&S is expected to secure 1.3 million tons of LNG annually from the Barossa field over the next 20 years, equivalent to about 3 percent of Korea's annual LNG imports, it said.
"The projected LNG volumes will help both the company and the country better cope with uncertainties in the global energy market, which is vulnerable to geopolitical risks, such as international disputes," a company official said.
SK Innovation E&S acquired a 37.5 percent stake in the Barossa gas field in 2012, while Australian oil and gas producer Santos and Japan's largest power generation company JERA hold 50 percent and 12.5 percent stakes, respectively.
The three companies have jointly invested about 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in the project, covering activities ranging from gas reserve assessments to the construction of production facilities, the company said.