Esso Australia Pty Ltd, a unit of U.S. oil major ExxonMobil said on Thursday it was on track to deliver gas from the West Barracouta gas field in the Bass Strait to the domestic market this year.
The company said it was preparing to build the final subsea infrastructure for the project, which is a part of its oil and gas production infrastructure in Gippsland, Victoria.
ExxonMobil had in November called off a potential multibillion-dollar sale of its oil and gas assets in the Bass Strait following a market evaluation.
"With production from the Gippsland Basin's legacy fields now in decline after more than 50 years of production, additional investment will be required to supply Australians with ongoing, reliable access to the affordable natural gas," Esso Australia chair Nathan Fay said.
Exxon's local affiliate operates the Gippsland Basin joint venture on behalf of a 50-50 venture with BHP Billiton Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd and Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd.
(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
