US oil major ExxonMobil is moving to plug and abandon five Whiting wells, located in the Gippsland basin offshore Australia in an exercise set to begin in March.
The Noble Tom Prosser jack-up rig will permanently plug and abandon the five Whiting platform wells in the Production License VIC/PL2 located in the Gippsland Basin approximately 34 km off the Gippsland coast in approximately 54 m of water.
The exercise is expected to be completed no later than 3Q 2020 with each well taking approximately 20 days to plug and abandon. Rig mobilization to site and demobilization on completion will take an additional ten days.
It was reported September last that ExxonMobil was looking to sell its 50% stake in the Gippsland Basin oil and gas development as part of a broader review of its global portfolio of assets.
Exxon’s move to sell its Gippsland Basin assets follows a disappointing drilling campaign in the Bass Strait in 2018 in what had been seen as a promising gas prospect.
