Japan’s Mitsui to invest 800 mln in Australia’s offshore oil fields

TOKYO, June 27 (Xinhua) — Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. announced Monday that it has decided to invest in the development of offshore oil fields in western Australia with a local partner.

Mitsui owns 40 percent working interest, while Australian oil and gas company Woodside Energy Limited, the operator of the undeveloped oil fields, with the remaining 60 percent working interest, according to a Mitsui release.

The development will involve about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars of investment for drilling of production wells and construction of subsea facilities, aiming to commence production of crude oil by around mid-2019. Mitsui will invest 800 million U.S. dollars in the project, said the Tokyo-based company.

Mitsui acquired its working interests in the Enfield and Vincent oil fields, located about 60km offshore Western Australia, in 2004.

The new project announced Monday includes undeveloped reservoirs that are located within the same area as the Enfield and Vincent oil fields.

The development concept is centered on utilizing the existing production facility at the Vincent oil field, through which it achieves integrated operations and a reduced capital requirement compared to a stand-alone development, said Mitsui.

“The effects of this decision on Mitsui’s profit forecast for the year ending March 2017 is expected to be minor,” said the trading house with 138 offices in 65 countries and regions.