Strike Energy has become the Perth Basin’s newest gas producer, commissioning gas into the state’s Parmelia pipeline from its Walyering joint venture project.
Strike Energy has become the Perth Basin’s newest gas producer, commissioning gas into the state’s Parmelia pipeline from its Walyering joint venture project.
The company achieved the milestone around 1pm yesterday, with production to be sold to Santos under a sales agreement struck late in 2022 as part of its domestic gas supply contributions to the state.
Strike is currently ramping production up at the field and expects firm gas sales to Santos to start at the beginning of October.
Its chief executive Stuart Nicholls said the milestone was a major feat for the developer as it progresses its plan to bring four fields into production by the end of 2025, which was endorsed with state government lead agency status in June.
“The commencement of production from the Walyering gas field marks a significant milestone in Strike’s history,” he said.
“The rapid transition from explorer in the Perth Basin in 2019 to a producer is now complete.
“The company is poised to build upon this success through its government-endorsed Perth Basin gas acceleration strategy.
“It has been 10 years since the last operator commissioned a new greenfield domestic gas development in WA, and as such, the Strike team is incredibly proud of this achievement.”
Talon chief executive Colby Hauser said Talon, which holds a 45 per cent stake in the joint venture, was also proud of the achievement.
“First gas at Walyering is a proud moment for Talon and our shareholders,” he said.
“Transitioning from explorer to producer has been an important milestone for the business.
“We look forward to working with Strike and supplying firm gas into our gas sales agreement with Santos.”
The milestone comes a month after Strike announced a deal to acquire Talon, in a move which would give it 100 per cent ownership at Walyering.
Under its deal with Santos, Strike will sell 36.5 petajoules of gas from Walyering over five years.
Strike has been central to the conversation around domestic gas supply in the state in recent times.
Amid concerns over future energy supply, the state tweaked its domestic gas policy in August to take LNG export exemptions from new onshore gas developments on existing pipelines off the table.
The move directly impacted developers like Strike, which had previously expressed intentions to apply for an LNG export exemption like that granted to the joint venture of Kerry Stokes-backed Beach Energy and Japan’s Mitsui & Co at the nearby Waitsia project.
In a submission to the state’s domestic gas inquiry, the company argued limitations on LNG exports from onshore projects would stifle investment and created an unequal playing field.
Strike shares were up slightly this morning, trading at 41c at 9am.
