Cooper gave Subsea 7 the job of tying back the Sole well to the Orbost gas processing plant at Newmerella, which the junior has just given APA Group the exclusive right to acquire and develop.

 

The contact scope for Subsea 7, which defines "sizable" as anywhere between $US50-150 million, includes the fabrication and installation of 64km of pipeline, spool and manifold, along with installation of a 64km umbilical and the commissioning of the system.

 

Subsea 7 said yesterday that the project management and engineering would start immediately from its Perth office, with offshore operations due to start next year. 

 

The material offshore operations are subject to final investment decision on the Sole development project which Subsea 7 said was "anticipated soon". 

 

Subsea 7 managing director, Australia and New Zealand Andy Woolgar said the award drew upon the company's substantial experience of delivering projects in the Gippsland Basin over the last 40 years. 

 

"We look forward to leveraging this established and proven record in pipeline fabrication and offshore installation to help Cooper Energy as it develops its offshore gas resources," he said.

 

Last month Cooper tripled its fiscal 2017 production guidance from less than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent to about 1MMboe after its purchase of Santos' Victorian gas assets, including Sole, had closed.

 

Santos sold its remaining Victorian gas assets to Cooper for $82 million that freed the seller from $140 million of longer-term aban¬donment costs and a looming $300 million capital spend on the Sole gas project.

 

Cooper, which embarked on a $63 million equity raising to fund the purchase, described the deal as "transformational", pointing to a fourfold production rise and ninefold reserves boost.