ASIA/PACIFIC

Peter Tang
Singapore

Australia: Woodside's Sunrise-2 confirmed

In the Bonaparte Basin in the Timor Sea, Woodside's Sunrise-2 appraisal well came in as a gas discovery. Initial reports state that the first test yielded a maximum 8 MMcf/d. Testing was ongoing at press time. The well is located in the NT/RL-2 license and is located 11km north-northwest of Sunrise-1, which was suspended as a gas discovery as far back as 1975. Sunrise-2 was spudded in 500 meter water depths and reached a TD of 2,350 meters.

In adjacent ZOCA 95-19 in Area A, Woodside (on behalf of block operator Shell) made another discovery in mid-May with the Sunset West-1 gas well. This appraisal of Shell's 1997 Sunset-1 oil and gas discovery (44 MMcf/d, 750 b/d of oil, and 1,500 b/dd of condensate) flowed a cumulative 30.6 MMcf/d from two DSTs. The well was drilled in 322 meters water depth, and reached TD at 2,505 meters.

Shell, Woodside planning Northern LNG venture

Shell and Woodside are planning a LNG and domestic gas project in this area called the Northern Australia Gas Venture to be fed by the recently discovered Sunrise, Sunset, Loxton Shoals, Troubadour, and Evans Shoal fields. Recoverable reserves stand at 5.4 Tcf of gas with more exploration planned. A processing plant and LNG complex is being planned for Darwin, with a projected project start-up date of 2005.

Brunei: Elf begins Block B two-leg well

In Baram Delta Basin Block B Elf commenced appraisal/development drilling in May from the central production platform on the Maharaja Lela/Jamalulalam oil/gas/condensate field with the spudding of MLJ1-01 using Foramer's Piranha jackup. This is a two leg well, with the first Daya Leg designed to evaluate prospectivity in the Upper Miocene reservoirs in the undrilled Daya Panel. The well will be plugged back and sidetracked to drill the second leg, the producer leg. This will be drilled through the Jam Barat Panel into the ML West Panel.

This is the first drilling in a program consisting of four new wells and two re-entries with initial production (the first in Brunei by a company other than Brunei Shell) slated for January 1999 in the form of an EWT. Full production is expected to commence in April 1999.

Burma: Yetagun well development underway

Development drilling on Premier's Yetagun gas field in the Gulf of Martaban has commenced. An eight-well development drilling program using Smedvig's T-8 tender is planned. MOGE believes the Yetagun Field is capable of producing 250 MMcf/d and 7,000 b/d of oil for 20 years. The estimate of gas in place is 1.5-2.0 TCF. Gas will be supplied to Thailand at an initial rate of 200 MMcf/d from late 1999 via a 270-km pipeline (under construction) to the delivery point on the Burma (Myanmar)/Thailand border at Ban I Tong.

Cambodia: Khmer Basin well disappointing

Idemitsu's Koah Pring-1 wildcat in Khmer Basin Block 4 has turned out to be a disappointment. It was plugged and abandoned with oil and gas shows in May without being tested, after having reached a TD of 3,180 meters. JDC's Energy Searcher drillship was subsequently released to BSP in Brunei.

Koah Pring-1 is located 6 km southeast of and down-dip from Premier's 1994 Kaoh Tang-1 oil and gas well, and had a PTD of 3,000 meters. It was targeting Lower Miocene and Upper Oligocene sandstones.

China: Oil strike at Pearl River Mouth

Santa Fe has a discovery in the Pearl River Mouth Basin (PSCA 15/34). The PY 4-2-1 exploration well on its Ursa prospect was drilled in 96 meters of water. The well was drilled to a TD of 3,000 meters and testing commenced. DST-1 flowed 3,200 b.d of 21.6( API oil and DST-2 recovered 3,489 b/d of 27( API oil. DST-2A recovered 3,587 b/d of 28( API oil. In total, five DSTs were carried out, but results have not been reported from the final two. The well was completed as an oil discovery. Santa Fe indicated that test results so far had demonstrated the presence of 90-120 meters of oil bearing sand in over 25 different zones. Santa Fe will follow with an extensive 3D survey to delineate the Ursa discovery and other neighboring prospects.

Two Bohai Gulf discoveries

Two discoveries in the Bohai Gulf were announced during May but few details are available. COBHC drilled on QK 17-9-2 in March and April. Precise location and rig details are not known. The well was drilled to its PTD of 2,500 meters in unspecified Mesozoic rocks. The well has tested high quantities of oil and gas but specific quantities have not been made available.

Also, COBHC spudded QHD 30-1N-1 on 16 February using the Bohai-4 jack-up in 26 meters water depth. The PTD was 3,660 meters.

Indonesia: E. Kalimantan slimhole hits gas

In Unocal's Kutei Basin (East Kalimantan PSC) slimhole wildcat Putih Besar-3 was completed as a gas discovery in May. The well is 22 km east northeast of the Attaka oil field, and situated in 465 meters water depth. The well was designed as a slimhole to drill to a PTD of 1,562 meters MD (1,468 meters TVD). The primary targets of the well were Pliocene channel sandstones and Miocene slope-basin fan sandstones. The well was drilled rapidly to its PTD after setting just one casing string. The well intersected a net 21 meters gas column and was completed as a gas discovery without being tested.