THE DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY PERFORMANCE OF THE NORTH RANKIN FIELD

Abstract

The North Rankin gas field is the first field to be developed as part of the North West Shelf Project and has now been on stream for some two years. With a most likely gas-initially-in-place of 11TCF (308 × 109 m3), it is the largest appraised gas-condensate field in Australia.

At the current stage, gas is being produced from one platform (the North Rankin 'A' platform) entirely for domestic consumption. Future development involves the drilling of additional wells to provide gas for export as liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan, installation of a second platform, and construction of an additional onshore plant to manufacture the LNG. In addition, a gas recycling project is to be implemented on the North Rankin 'A' platform to increase the recovery of condensate by utilizing spare platform processing capacity available prior to reaching plateau LNG exports.

The present paper reviews the development and performance of this major field over the first two years of its producing life. Emphasis is placed on the reservoir pressure performance, particularly in relation to the reservoir geology.