Multi-disciplined/collaborative team approach to deliver Kipper Compression Project
Dean Fuller A , Renee Terz A , Belinda Choon A , Dnyandeo Ingale A , Mark Poot A , Arif Md A and Grant Shaw A *A
Dean joined ExxonMobil in 1999 as an Offshore Operations Technician, bringing in his experience in Electrical and Electrical Supervision. He progressed to Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) in 2010 and since then his major experiences include various platform OIM roles, Relief Producing Field Supervision and the Cobia Restart Project. He also completed a Degree in Training and Education that has facilitated the mentoring and coaching of many Offshore Operators and OIMs. In 2022, he joined the Kipper Compression Project as Operations Advisor and then to Start Up Manager. |
Renee joined ExxonMobil in 2020 after graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (honours)/Business Management. Since joining ExxonMobil, she has supported onshore and offshore sites as a Machinery Engineer, joining the Kipper Compression Project team to support the execution, commissioning and start-up phases. |
Belinda was the Project Manager of the Kipper Compression Project during the FEED and early execution phases. After graduating from the University of Melbourne with a combined Chemical Engineering/Commerce degree in 2002, she joined ExxonMobil and has held a variety of project organisation roles on projects both within and outside of Australia. |
Dnyandeo joined ExxonMobil in 2021 as Project Engineer, bringing in his 10 years of industry experience in Project Management. After Graduating in Mechanical Engineering and Master in Thermal Sciences, he started his career as R&D engineer in 2011. He worked in Engineering Management, construction management and commissioning before joining ExxonMobil. He was the Engineering Lead during engineering phase and Fabrication Lead during Fabrication phase for Kipper Compression Project. |
Mark graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 1999 and has served as a machinery engineer in the oil and gas sector for over 20 years across two major oil and gas companies. He has broad experience across the full range of project life cycle from concept select and FEED through to commissioning, startup and production operations. He provided technical guidance during the concept select phases before joining the Kipper Compression Project full time in 2019 for the FEED and detailed engineering phase. |
Arif joined ExxonMobil in 2021 after graduating from the National Institution of Technology, Calicut, India, with a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering. Post joining ExxonMobil, he was onboarded on Kipper Compression Project as Project Engineer remotely supporting from India later transitioning on-site in early 2023 to support execution, commissioning and start-up phases. |
Grant was the Project Manager for execute stage of the Kipper Compression Project and currently is in a Project Manager role within the projects organisation. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2008 with double degree in Chemical Engineering and Science. He has worked for ExxonMobil since his graduation in technical, development planning and project roles across both the ExxonMobil’s production and projects organisations. |
Abstract
The Kipper gas field in Australia’s offshore Gippsland Basin was initially developed from two subsea wells producing back to the West Tuna host platform commencing in 2017. The Kipper field is unique in the Gippsland Basin as it is a Golden Beach Formation pressure depletion-drive reservoir, requiring compression to support recovery of the produceable reserves. As such, the Kipper Compression Project, which was successfully installed in 2024, represents another significant infrastructure investment in the Bass Strait where 100% of gas from the basin is sold into Australia’s east coast domestic market. This project represented a multi-year effort with a high degree of brownfield complexity to install the compression components on a producing platform. The project leveraged a modularised design inclusive of the gas compressor and turbine package, fuel gas and seal gas conditioning equipment, as well as condensate pumping, power and controls infrastructure. The tie-in and integration scope on West Tuna involved significant interfacing and risk management between the project, logistics and operations teams. Successful project delivery necessitated a multi-disciplined and collaborative team effort from early concept selection and facility design, and a highly coordinated effort through module fabrication, transportation, shorebase load-out, offshore installation, hook-up and commissioning. West Tuna platform and Kipper Compression facilities are within Gippsland Basin Joint Venture (GBJV) operated by Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd (50%) and partners with Woodside Energy (50%).
Keywords: compression, facility design, gas supply, Gippsland Basin, Kipper field, modularisation, project execution, West Tuna platform.
Dean joined ExxonMobil in 1999 as an Offshore Operations Technician, bringing in his experience in Electrical and Electrical Supervision. He progressed to Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) in 2010 and since then his major experiences include various platform OIM roles, Relief Producing Field Supervision and the Cobia Restart Project. He also completed a Degree in Training and Education that has facilitated the mentoring and coaching of many Offshore Operators and OIMs. In 2022, he joined the Kipper Compression Project as Operations Advisor and then to Start Up Manager. |
Renee joined ExxonMobil in 2020 after graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (honours)/Business Management. Since joining ExxonMobil, she has supported onshore and offshore sites as a Machinery Engineer, joining the Kipper Compression Project team to support the execution, commissioning and start-up phases. |
Belinda was the Project Manager of the Kipper Compression Project during the FEED and early execution phases. After graduating from the University of Melbourne with a combined Chemical Engineering/Commerce degree in 2002, she joined ExxonMobil and has held a variety of project organisation roles on projects both within and outside of Australia. |
Dnyandeo joined ExxonMobil in 2021 as Project Engineer, bringing in his 10 years of industry experience in Project Management. After Graduating in Mechanical Engineering and Master in Thermal Sciences, he started his career as R&D engineer in 2011. He worked in Engineering Management, construction management and commissioning before joining ExxonMobil. He was the Engineering Lead during engineering phase and Fabrication Lead during Fabrication phase for Kipper Compression Project. |
Mark graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 1999 and has served as a machinery engineer in the oil and gas sector for over 20 years across two major oil and gas companies. He has broad experience across the full range of project life cycle from concept select and FEED through to commissioning, startup and production operations. He provided technical guidance during the concept select phases before joining the Kipper Compression Project full time in 2019 for the FEED and detailed engineering phase. |
Arif joined ExxonMobil in 2021 after graduating from the National Institution of Technology, Calicut, India, with a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering. Post joining ExxonMobil, he was onboarded on Kipper Compression Project as Project Engineer remotely supporting from India later transitioning on-site in early 2023 to support execution, commissioning and start-up phases. |
Grant was the Project Manager for execute stage of the Kipper Compression Project and currently is in a Project Manager role within the projects organisation. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2008 with double degree in Chemical Engineering and Science. He has worked for ExxonMobil since his graduation in technical, development planning and project roles across both the ExxonMobil’s production and projects organisations. |
