Australia's Woodside confirms Tevet as oil discovery

Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. said its offshore Mauritania exploration program is meeting expectations following the latest test results.

Testing of its Tevet-1 exploration well revealed a 44 m oil column, confirming the prospect as a new oil discovery, the company said in a statement.

The company also encountered a gas column of around 70 m above the Tevet oil column, it added.

Earlier this week Woodside revealed that Tevet-1 struck oil and gas, providing the Australian energy group with early success in its $100 million-plus Mauritania drilling program.

The latest results suggest that Tevet may be developed as an adjunct to Woodside's nearby Chinguetti field, due to begin production in 2006.

"The Tevet-1 discovery is located within tie-back distance to the Chinguetti field, which is currently being developed," Woodside said.

The company has no indication of the size of Tevet, though pre-drill estimates for the prospect ranged from 50-100 MMb/d, analysts say.

The company will plug the current Tevet-1 operation as planned, Woodside said.

At Tiof-3, appraisal drilling has intersected a gross oil column of 134 m, a result "in line with pre-drill expectations," Woodside said.

The current operation at Tiof-3 is preparing to sidetrack, core, and test the well as planned.

Woodside plans to begin production at Tiof in mid-2006, subject to further successful appraisal work.

The company's next target in Mauritania is the Dorade prospect in a different zone to the south of existing discoveries.

Dorade is considered a higher risk well than Tevet-1.

Last month Woodside CEO Don Voelte warned that there is a "strong possibility" Dorade-1 could be "dry hole."

Woodside owns 53.85% of Chinguetti. Other participants are Hardman Resources Ltd. (with 21.6%, BG Group 11.6%, Premier group of companies 9.2%, and Roc Oil 3.7%.

10-08-04