Woodside Energy Group Ltd’s Trion oil and gas project has received social impact assessment approval from the Mexican Ministry of Energy.
The assessment, which outlines how Woodside will manage the social impact of the project, was submitted in May 2023.
“This approval marks an important milestone on the pathway to developing this nationally significant resource project”, Woodside Executive Vice President for Projects Matthew Ridolfi said in a statement Tuesday. “We appreciate the ongoing support we have received from the Mexican government for Trion”.
“The approval also validates Woodside’s approach to how we engage with communities wherever we work and recognizes our high operating standards. It reflects the excellent work of our technical team, our consultants, and the strong professional relationships we have established with Mexico’s regulatory authorities”, Ridolfi added.
“The development of this comprehensive plan will help us to engage more effectively with local communities and better support their needs as we progress this project from construction to first oil. It also brings forward opportunities for jobs and economic development”, he concluded.
Woodside received approval from Mexico's regulator to proceed with the development plan for the Trion oil field in September 2023. Once complete, Trion will have a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day and connect to a 950,000-barrel capacity floating storage and offloading vessel. The greenfield development will represent the first deepwater development in Mexico at a water depth of 8,202 feet (2,500 meters).
Trion, a greenfield development that would represent the first oil production from Mexico’s deepwater, is being developed by Woodside in a joint venture with PEMEX. First oil production is targeted for 2028.
The approval of the social impact assessment comes after the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) said Woodside’s investment in oil and gas expansion as well as its emissions accounting practice do not align with the company’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.
The ACF said that an analysis it had conducted found that 92 percent of the company’s reported gross equity emissions were Scope 3, accounting for 60,699 kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalent (ktCO2e), compared to 5,370 ktCO2e under Scope 1 and 2. “By excluding scope 3 emissions, Woodside is able to appear as if it is making significant strides towards emissions reduction, while in fact its total emissions continue to expand”, the ACF said in a recent report.
2023 Production Figures
Meanwhile, Woodside said in a separate news release Thursday that it added 266 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) of proved oil and gas reserves in 2023, replacing 132 percent of production.
The Perth-based company also noted that it added 318 MMboe of proved plus probable reserves in 2023, replacing 158 percent of production. It measured proved reserves life at 12.2 years given the 2023 production levels, which is benchmarked in the top quartile of global peers.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the reserves update reflects the quality of the larger portfolio following the merger with BHP’s petroleum assets.
“Woodside has delivered strong operational performance over the past 12 months. We achieved record production in 2023, while progressing a world-class funnel of development opportunities, which have us well positioned for growth and returns”, O’Neill said.
“Our success in integrating the strategic merger with BHP Petroleum, combined with our ability to advance major projects and improve performance has delivered a high-quality resource base that enjoys top-quartile reserve life”, O’Neill added. “We continued to see strong performance from our core assets in 2023”.
As of December 31, 2023, Woodside’s remaining proved (1P) reserves were 2,450.1 MMboe, proved plus probable (2P) reserves remaining were 3,757.1 MMboe. The best estimate (2C) contingent resources remaining were 5,902.0 MMboe.
The first-time booking of reserves at Trion in Mexico and Mad Dog Southwest in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico increased proved reserves by 204.1 MMboe and proved plus probable reserves by 300.0 MMboe, the company said.
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