Houston-based energy giant ConocoPhillips and its partners announced positive results from the two-well appraisal drilling campaign in the Barossa field off Northern Territory, strengthening the field’s position as lead candidate to supply backfill gas to the Darwin LNG plant.
Well logs and pressure data from the Barossa-5 and Barossa-6 wells confirm that the primary Elang reservoir section is gas saturated and in pressure communication with previous wells drilled on the Barossa field, located in NT/RL5, Bonaparte Basin, Australia’s Santos that holds a 25% interest in the Barossa-Caldita joint venture said on Wednesday.
The successful outcome from the two appraisal wells justified further production testing in the field to confirm reservoir productivity and acquire critical dynamic data to support field development planning, the statement reads.
The Elang reservoir interval in Barossa-6 is similar to the high-quality reservoir penetrated in the offset Barossa-3 well, drilled in 2014, some 4.3 kilometres to the east.
Barossa-6 flowed gas and condensate from an interval between 4,103 metres to 4,144 metres at a maximum rate of 65 million standard cubic feet (mmscf) per day. A condensate gas ratio of 7 barrels per mmscf was measured at surface with gas composition analysis indicating inerts were as expected.
The two-well Barossa appraisal drilling programme has now been concluded with results significantly reducing resource uncertainty and further confirming the high deliverability potential of the primary Elang reservoir, Santos said.
Subsurface data obtained from the appraisal program will now be integrated into subsurface models to support a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) entry decision in early 2018.
ConocoPhillips holds a 37.5% interest and in is the operator of the Barossa-Caldita joint venture. SK E&S owns a 37.5% stake in the JV as well.