Santos has announced first oil from the Van Gogh infill project, marking the successful completion of the two-well program that will increase production from the field.

The Van Gogh field is one of three subsea oil field developments located in the Exmouth Basin, offshore Western Australia, which tie into the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO), the Ningaloo Vision.

The infill project began in September and involved drilling and completing two subsea wells and connecting them into existing offshore infrastructure.

Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said: “This program has been a great success, enabling a lift in production from the field.”

The two dual-lateral wells were targeted to access bypassed oil not drained from the original wells and were technically the most challenging of any wells in the development, drilling horizontal sections in the reservoirs as long as 3,500 metres only 950 metres below the seabed.

“The campaign has also been delivered safely and efficiently, highlighting the tremendous offshore expertise we have brought into the business with last year’s acquisition of Quadrant Energy,” Mr Gallagher said.

Production from Van Gogh began in 2010, with the nearby Coniston and Novara fields tied back to the FPSO in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Santos has a 52.5% interest in the Van Gogh-Coniston-Novara project, which it operates.