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Vintage Energy (ASX:VEN) and partners begin Vali commissioning ahead of first project gas flows

ASX News, Energy
ASX:VEN      MCAP $5.008M
13 February 2023 14:31 (AEDT)

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Vintage Energy (VEN) and its joint venture (JV) partners have completed the construction of the Vali-1 leasepad facilities ahead of first gas flows from the field.

Vintage owns 50 per cent of and operates the AATP 2021 joint venture, with the remaining interest split evenly between Metgaso (MEL) and Bridgeport.

The Vali gas field, discovered by the joint venture in 2020, is in the process of being connected to the South Australian Cooper Basin gas gathering infrastructure in a bid to bring a new source of gas supply to eastern Australia.

Vali has been certified to have proved and probable gas reserves of 101 petajoules, with the JV contracted to supply between an estimated nine-to-16 petajoules of gas to AGL until 2026.

The mechanical handover of the facilities at Vali-1 took place on Saturday, with control handed over to a contractor, Upstream Production Solutions, to commission, operate and maintain the infrastructure.

Commissioning has now begun at Vali-1, starting with the purging of the system with nitrogen to expel air and various checks prior to the introduction of gas.

This will be followed by the commissioning of the metering facility, Beckler tie-in and export lines. Subject to the progress of commissioning, Vintage Energy projects first gas from the field is likely to occur within 12 days.

VEN Managing Director Neil Gibbins said the project transition from construction to commissioning marked a “long-anticipated milestone” for the company.

“Vali is now one step away from first gas, and with that the commencement of revenue generation,” Mr Gibbins told investors.

“Our focus is firmly on executing commissioning safely and efficiently so Vali gas can start flowing to eastern Australia as soon as possible.”

Construction and installation work is ongoing at the Vali-2 and Vali-3 sites, with the mechanical handover and commissioning at the sites scheduled to occur by early March.

Vintage Energy was up 2.25 per cent to 9.1 cents and JV partner Metgasco was down 4.55 per cent to 2.1 cents at 2:21 pm AEDT

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