The joint venture behind the Odin and Vali gas projects in the Cooper Basin has approved funding for a program to boost production.

However, gasfields operator Vintage Energy said the program would be delayed by the floodwaters now preventing access to a number of roads in the region.

The program is designed to address opportunities to lift output by managing potential scale accumulation at Odin and Vali, which straddle the Queensland-South Australia border.

Scale forms when dissolved minerals precipitate, leaving a residue which can impair flow rates in project pipework.

At Vali the joint venture will also look to bring production from the Toolachee Formation sands online, including through a reperforation project at Vali-3.

Modelling indicates the proposed program offers a lift in raw gas production of 2.1 to 5.6 MMscf/d (million standard cubic feet per day).

‘Timing of the program will be affected by the extreme rainfall event experienced in Queensland during the final week of March,’ Vintage Energy said in an update to the ASX.

‘Downstream flooding has now reached the Cooper Basin region and is rising. Operator Vintage has been advised floodwaters are now preventing access to a number of roads in the region, with restoration not anticipated until late May/early June at the earliest.

‘Full access will be conditional on completion of any necessary repairs. Accordingly, we anticipate the production optimisation/uplift program will not commence prior to June 2025.

‘Production from the Odin and Vali gas fields is continuing unaffected. However, the loss of road access carries the potential for disruption in circumstances warranting operator attention at the wellsite, in which case alternative transportation, such as helicopters will be employed with response time subject to availability.’

Vintage Energy is operator and 50 per cent interest holder in the projects, with Bridgeport and Metgasco each holding 25 per cent stakes.

Gas produced by Odin and Vali is supplied to ENGIE-Mitsui joint venture Pelican Point Power and AGL under long-term contracts.

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