The Woollybutt oil field has had to temporarily suspend production from one of its two wells due to problems with the swivel on the FPSO "Four Vanguard" connecting the flowlines of the ship with the internal mooring buoy.

The field was plagued by problems prior to beginning production including tug damage and cyclone Inigo. However, since then an uninterrupted work cycle has averaged around 40,000 bopd producing over one million barrels of oil since production began.

Tap Oil (15%) estimates that this latest problem will reduce production from the field to around 25,000bbls per day for 2-4 days while the cause of problem is fully evaluated and full production re-established.

Located 50km southwest of Barrow Island and 42km northeast of the Griffin oil field, the 'Four Vanguard' is operating the Woollybutt-2AST3 and Woollybutt-1ST1 wells, with an estimated proven and probable recoverable reserves around 25 million barrels.

Participants in WA-234-P include Tap Oil 15%, Eni Australia (operator) 65% and MOBIL Australia Resources 20%