Senex Energy Limited has reached nameplate production of 32 terajoules (TJ) per day (approximately 12 petajoules per year) at its Atlas natural gas processing facility in the Surat Basin.

Production at the firm nameplate capacity was achieved ahead of schedule and continues to increase. Further non-firm capacity of 8 TJ/day (roughly 3 PJ/year) is also available at the Atlas facility.

Senex announced last month that its total Surat Basin production had reached 50 TJ/day (more than 18 PJ/year), an increase of 16 per cent from the previous quarter.

The latest Atlas achievement is the final production milestone in Senex’s foundation $400 million Surat Basin development project, which includes Atlas and Roma North.

Last year, Senex was awarded acreage adjacent to Atlas that it states will enable expanded Atlas production of up to 56 TJ/day (around 20 PJ/year).

The company also reports that the expansion of Roma North to 24 TJ/day (approximately 9 PJ/year) is progressing, with first gas expected in Q1 FY22.

Senex’s Managing Director and CEO, Ian Davies, said the Atlas production achievement illustrated continuing flawless delivery in Senex’s Surat Basin expansion.

“This latest milestone underscores Senex’s success in becoming a material new entrant in a strong domestic market with high barriers to entry. Our Surat Basin operations now produce the equivalent of 10 per cent of Queensland’s domestic demand and there is much more to come as we unlock our 780 PJ of 2P gas reserves,” Mr Davies said.

“Our continuing flawless delivery is a credit to our team, our energy infrastructure partner Jemena, which owns and operates the Atlas facility, and the result of strong collaboration with all of our stakeholders,” he commented.

Senex plans to release its FY21 half-year results on 22 February 2021.