Australian Santos is making progress with drilling operations at its second appraisal well on the Dorado oil and gas field – the Dorado-3 well – located offshore Australia.
The Dorado oil and gas field resides in WA-437-P, which is operated by Santos with Carnarvon as its partner.
Santos started drilling the Dorado-3 well at the end of July, using the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up rig.
Carnarvon said in an update on Friday that the 12-1/4” hole was drilled down to a depth of approximately 3,878 meters Measured Depth (MD) and the rig is preparing operations in order to set and cement the 9-5/8” liner.
After the 9-5/8” liner is set in place the well be drilled down to around 3,940 meters MD in 8-1/2” hole and approximately 230 meters of whole bore core will then be acquired. Details of the reservoirs and hydrocarbons encountered will not be able to be assessed until after this coring operation is complete. The well will then be deepened before a further 150 meters of whole bore core is acquired over the lower reservoir sections.
Once the core has been acquired, wireline logging is then expected to be undertaken ahead of flow test operations, the company said.
The Dorado-3 well is the second appraisal of the Dorado oil and gas field which was discovered in 2018. The field is located approximately 160km north-northeast of Port Hedland in the Bedout Sub-basin in around 95 meters water depth.
The Dorado-1 exploration well discovered hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs in the Caley, Baxter, Crespin and Milne Members of the Lower Keraudren Formation.
The Dorado-2 appraisal well, located around 2.2km north east of the Dorado-1 well, confirmed hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs in the Caley, Baxter and Milne and importantly demonstrated connectivity within each reservoir between the two wells.
The Dorado-3 appraisal well is located approximately 900 meters north west of the Dorado-1 discovery location.
The Dorado-3 well has been designed to enhance the Joint Venture’s confidence in the subsurface characteristics and confirm reservoir productivity. Dorado-3 is planned to conduct 2, and potentially up to 3, flow tests targeting the Caley, Baxter and Milne reservoirs, as well as acquire approximately 380 meters of fullbore core in the Caley, Baxter, Crespin and Milne Members.
According to Carnarvon, this will result in a significant amount of new data to further characterize the Dorado field.
Spotted a typo? Have something more to add to the story? Maybe a nice photo? Contact our editorial team via email .
Also, i f you’re interested in showcasing your company, product or technology on Offshore Energy Today, please contact us via our advertising form where you can also see our media kit.