Aug. 20--Maslin-1 reaches 1,358 m TD

The Maslins-1 well in the Cooper Basin has reached a TD of 1,358 m since it spudded on Aug. 10, according to Beach Petroleum. Wireline logs, with the DST 2 results, indicate the well has discovered a new oil pool in the Murta Formation, but reservoir productivity is not sufficient to warrant well completion. Good oil shows were also encountered at the top of the McKinlay Member. These results indicate that although a commercial accumulation is not present at the Maslins-1 location, there is an active petroleum system in the area and commercial oil may be on the greater Maslins structure.
The Maslins-1 operation was circulating prior to running cement plugs. The rig will move to Aldinga-1, 40km northeast, in PEL 95 after its release from the Maslins-1 location. The well is expected to spud by Aug. 25. Earlier, Magellan Petroleum Australia Ltd. had started working on the first of a three-well exploration program in its Cooper basin acreage. The three-well program is made up of the Maslins-1 well in PEL 94 and the Aldinga-1 and Henley-1 wells in PEL 95. Beach Petroleum is operator of the joint venture. It acquired 753-line km of data as part of the Nautilus 2D seismic survey. The permits are located on the southern oil-prone margin of the Cooper Basin.