Bass Strait

Two years later Kingfish was discovered, the first offshore oil field, which to this day remains the largest oil field ever discovered in Australia.

These, and other subsequent world-class discoveries in Bass Strait, off Victoria's Gippsland coast, have led to significant changes to Australia's industry and economy.

Massive infrastructure costing billions of dollars has been built to develop, produce and process the crude oil and gas, which is used to power industry, fuel vehicles, heat homes and manufacture products in Australia and overseas. Our Gippsland operations have produced more than half of Australia’s crude oil, and in their most prosperous days, were providing over 10 percent of all Australian Government revenue.

And, that vital role we play is just as important as it was decades ago. 

Today our Gippsland gas makes up 60% of the supply to south east Australia and 100% of that gas goes to Australia’s domestic market.

Our gas production assets in Bass Strait consist of 421 wells, 19 platforms, six subsea facilities and more than 800 kilometres of subsea pipeline.

Gas is produced through these offshore facilities and processed at our Longford Gas Plants. Natural gas is fed into the domestic gas network directly from Longford.

Gas liquids, which are essentially by-products of the gas production process, are sent for further processing to Long Island Point Plant in Hastings before being provided to customers.

All together, these assets form part of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture between Esso and Woodside and the Kipper Unit Joint Venture, which also includes Mitsui.

Living and working offshore

Historically, between 300-500 staff have worked on Esso Australia’s offshore oil and gas platforms. However, with our decommissioning efforts now in full swing, our offshore workforce has grown over 800 people, Platforms operate 24 hours a day and crews typically work 12 hour shifts on a seven-days-on and seven-days-off roster.

The biggest platforms are capable of sleeping up to 80 people at any one time although the actual number of personnel on a platform varies considerably depending on the platform's current work program.

An effort is made to provide as many home comforts as possible. The platforms have gymnasiums and recreational rooms where off-duty personnel can workout, watch television, play pool or computer games. There are also fully equipped kitchens which provide thousands of meals each year.

Reflecting the international nature of the oil and gas industry the platforms usually comprise a mix of personnel from all over the world. At any one time it would not be unusual for more than a dozen nationalities to be represented in Bass Strait.

Platform crews are typically made up of a supervisor, who oversees all work undertaken on the platform; operators, who control the crude oil and gas flow to the surface and monitor the processing facilities on each platform; maintenance personnel, who look after electrical, mechanical and instrumentation equipment; crane drivers; trades assistants; and platform services operators who also carry out first aid duties as required. Contractors do most of the other specialised jobs like drilling, construction, diving, painting and catering.

Helicopters are one of the crucial lifelines that support the oil and gas operations in Bass Strait. ExxonMobil operates Australia's largest privately owned helicopter fleet from its heliport at Longford near Sale, 220 kilometres east of Melbourne.

Leonardo AW139 helicopters operate regular morning and afternoon flights to ferry personnel to and from the platforms which are between 25 and 80 kilometres offshore.

The helicopters are capable of seating up to 12 people. They also carry more than 20 tonnes of urgent freight and critical spares per month.

Barry Beach Marine Terminal

For nearly 60 years, Barry Beach Marine Terminal has served as the main supply depot of Esso to support Bass Strait offshore operations, with most of our offshore facilities fabricated at Barry Beach Marine Terminal throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Each year it facilitates the warehousing and transport of thousands of tonnes of food, supplies, fuel and equipment to the offshore platforms and installations that serve as bases for drilling, oil and gas production and processing. Normally operating five days a week, the Marine Terminal is also a critical lifeline for the 800 personnel and contractors who live and work on the offshore platforms.

At the same time, the terminal has played a key role in supporting nearly $3 billion of decommissioning activities we have completed in recent years as we prepare our offshore facilities for removal. In fact, we’ve already brought in over 10,000 tonnes of steel and concrete to Barry Beach, which has gone on to be recycled.

Located near Port Welshpool in South Gippsland, Barry Beach Marine Terminal is 240 km south east of Melbourne.

Esso has awarded a contract to Qube Energy, a part of Qube Holdings, to operate Barry Beach Marine Terminal on its behalf. Qube commenced operations in November 2017.