InterOil: Antelope-7 comes up dry

[Gator]

http://www.lngworldnews.com/interoil-ant...-up-dry-2/

InterOil Corporation said the Antelope-7 sidetrack appraisal well reached 2,383 meters depth without any evidence of intersecting the Antelope reservoir. 

Total E&P PNG, the operator of the petroleum retention license 15 (PRL15) in Papua new Guinea, is drilling ahead to explore a deeper exploration target on behalf of the joint venture.

The proposed total depth of the Antelope-7 appraisal section of the well was around 2,300 meters.

Total E&P PNG has a 40.1275 percent interest in the well while InterOil holds a 36.5375 percent, Oil Search has 22.8350 percent and the remaining 0.5000 percent is held by minority parties.

InterOil, in the midst of a $2.5 billion takeover by the US-based energy giant ExxonMobil recently received renewed shareholder support with 91 percent of the votes cast during a special meeting favoring the transaction.

Upon conclusion of the transaction, ExxonMobil would gain access to InterOil’s resource base, which includes interests in six licenses in Papua New Guinea covering about four million acres. These licenses include the Elk-Antelope field which is the anchor field for the proposed Papua LNG project.

[oliver.gump]

http://www.lngworldnews.com/interoil-ant...-up-dry-2/

InterOil Corporation said the Antelope-7 sidetrack appraisal well reached 2,383 meters depth without any evidence of intersecting the Antelope reservoir. 

Total E&P PNG, the operator of the petroleum retention license 15 (PRL15) in Papua new Guinea, is drilling ahead to explore a deeper exploration target on behalf of the joint venture.

The proposed total depth of the Antelope-7 appraisal section of the well was around 2,300 meters.

Total E&P PNG has a 40.1275 percent interest in the well while InterOil holds a 36.5375 percent, Oil Search has 22.8350 percent and the remaining 0.5000 percent is held by minority parties.

InterOil, in the midst of a $2.5 billion takeover by the US-based energy giant ExxonMobil recently received renewed shareholder support with 91 percent of the votes cast during a special meeting favoring the transaction.

Upon conclusion of the transaction, ExxonMobil would gain access to InterOil’s resource base, which includes interests in six licenses in Papua New Guinea covering about four million acres. These licenses include the Elk-Antelope field which is the anchor field for the proposed Papua LNG project.

They have now passed 2600m and still no carbonate. plan was to drill to 3000m. then P&A regardless of outcome.

[bdahl385]

http://www.lngworldnews.com/interoil-ant...-up-dry-2/

InterOil Corporation said the Antelope-7 sidetrack appraisal well reached 2,383 meters depth without any evidence of intersecting the Antelope reservoir. 

Total E&P PNG, the operator of the petroleum retention license 15 (PRL15) in Papua new Guinea, is drilling ahead to explore a deeper exploration target on behalf of the joint venture.

The proposed total depth of the Antelope-7 appraisal section of the well was around 2,300 meters.

Total E&P PNG has a 40.1275 percent interest in the well while InterOil holds a 36.5375 percent, Oil Search has 22.8350 percent and the remaining 0.5000 percent is held by minority parties.

InterOil, in the midst of a $2.5 billion takeover by the US-based energy giant ExxonMobil recently received renewed shareholder support with 91 percent of the votes cast during a special meeting favoring the transaction.

Upon conclusion of the transaction, ExxonMobil would gain access to InterOil’s resource base, which includes interests in six licenses in Papua New Guinea covering about four million acres. These licenses include the Elk-Antelope field which is the anchor field for the proposed Papua LNG project.

They have now passed 2600m and still no carbonate. plan was to drill to 3000m. then P&A regardless of outcome.

Now why would you say they will "plug and abandon" regardless of outcome?  If they find the downthrust A/E carbonite and its still good reservoir quality and gas bearing - or if they get into that "deep" separate prospective zone and it contains hydrocarbons, i would think they'd case and suspend for future production.

[Stavros]

Their internally prepared PLAN was to plug and abandon.

Plans can be changed I suppose, which might require significant government reviews and approvals.

[Northoil]

Their internally prepared PLAN was to plug and abandon. Plans can be changed I suppose, which might require significant government reviews and approvals.

__________________________________________________________________

I think I've noted this before - (see Antelop 7 depth x time thread) - the well is AFE'd to 3300m.  The AFE (Authorization For Expenditure) controls everything, because money talks.  It means the partners have all agreed, in spite of the planned TD of 2300m,  the well CAN be taken to 3300m.  This would cover the cost, drilling/casing design and, 99% sure, government permits and approvals.

Now, plans can change depending on realities encountered.  Maybe there's still a deep prospect - which the 3300m AFE implied.  At this point, I think their model is screwed and whether there's still deeper prospects is a question.  Anyway, as far as I understand what they're doing and what hole conditions are, they have the possibility of drilling to 3300m.  With the sidetrack, costs have probably overrun already, so that's a factor, too. BTW, I saw nothing that said they were only going to 3000m, but I may have missed it.

Wildcats and appraisals are typically AFE'd on a dry-hole basis.  I.e., P&A.  In the event of success, everyone is only too happy to change plans.  If they find something, they'll have to case it off. Cement plugs will be set at the bottom and above any pay zone, within the casing.  Years later, if the well is capable of production, the well can be re-entered, the plug drilled out, and the productive zone completed.  Plugged doesn't always mean Abandoned, although that's what they call it.

[Stavros]

I don't necessarily think that "their model is screwed." I say this because, as I recall, OSH said from the very beginning that they expected a duster.

[bdahl385]

I don't necessarily think that "their model is screwed." I say this because, as I recall, OSH said from the very beginning that they expected a duster.

That's going a little far, what OSH stated was that when the original hole was lost, they were at a depth that had not encountered any reservoir rock yet.  OSH said that was in line with their pre-drill expectation.  That simply meant they had not yet drilled to a depth where OSH expected to see the reservoir.

I doubt OSH would have voted to participate in the well at all if they thought they were drilling a dry hole without any chance of success.  There are still two deeper targets not yet reached.  The down thrusted section of the E/A carbonate on the western side of the fault and the "deep" target that may be a new discovery or an extension of the Raptor / WhiteTail / MuleDeer prospects.

[bdahl385]

Their internally prepared PLAN was to plug and abandon. Plans can be changed I suppose, which might require significant government reviews and approvals.

__________________________________________________________________

I think I've noted this before - (see Antelop 7 depth x time thread) - the well is AFE'd to 3300m.  The AFE (Authorization For Expenditure) controls everything, because money talks.  It means the partners have all agreed, in spite of the planned TD of 2300m,  the well CAN be taken to 3300m.  This would cover the cost, drilling/casing design and, 99% sure, government permits and approvals.

Now, plans can change depending on realities encountered.  Maybe there's still a deep prospect - which the 3300m AFE implied.  At this point, I think their model is screwed and whether there's still deeper prospects is a question.  Anyway, as far as I understand what they're doing and what hole conditions are, they have the possibility of drilling to 3300m.  With the sidetrack, costs have probably overrun already, so that's a factor, too. BTW, I saw nothing that said they were only going to 3000m, but I may have missed it.

Wildcats and appraisals are typically AFE'd on a dry-hole basis.  I.e., P&A.  In the event of success, everyone is only too happy to change plans.  If they find something, they'll have to case it off. Cement plugs will be set at the bottom and above any pay zone, within the casing.  Years later, if the well is capable of production, the well can be re-entered, the plug drilled out, and the productive zone completed.  Plugged doesn't always mean Abandoned, although that's what they call it.

NorthOil -  Agree with your comments 100%.  Every well is eventually P&A'd, sometimes temporarily but ultimately without any desire or reason to re-enter.  That cost is built in to the pre-drill AFE.  So just because there is a P&A cost line and reference in the original report, that in no way means they were stating there was not a chance of making a commercial well.  Until this well is at final TD and logged, there is always a possiblilty that the pay zone just has not yet been reached.

What is your opinion as to why the E/A carbonate was not at the depth of the rest of the E/A field (i.e. roughly horizontal to the A5 offset)?  To me there are 2 posssiblities: 1) the Reef has simply pinched out and is no longer present at this vertical spot.  2) The often talked about Western fault lies between A5 and A7 and the E/A carbonate is downthrust from the original horizontal plane that the current reservoir belongs to.

I believe in option 2 as the reason.  I am hopeful they will drill the current sidetrack deep enough to intersect the carbonate and see if it still has good quality and whether it is gas or water bearing at the new deeper location.  What are your thoughts?

[Northoil]

[quote='Stavros' pid='79572' dateline='1487717448'] Their internally prepared PLAN was to plug and abandon. Plans can be changed I suppose, which might require significant government reviews and approvals.

__________________________________________________________________

I think I've noted this before - (see Antelop 7 depth x time thread) - the well is AFE'd to 3300m.  The AFE (Authorization For Expenditure) controls everything, because money talks.  It means the partners have all agreed, in spite of the planned TD of 2300m,  the well CAN be taken to 3300m.  This would cover the cost, drilling/casing design and, 99% sure, government permits and approvals.

Now, plans can change depending on realities encountered.  Maybe there's still a deep prospect - which the 3300m AFE implied.  At this point, I think their model is screwed and whether there's still deeper prospects is a question.  Anyway, as far as I understand what they're doing and what hole conditions are, they have the possibility of drilling to 3300m.  With the sidetrack, costs have probably overrun already, so that's a factor, too. BTW, I saw nothing that said they were only going to 3000m, but I may have missed it.

Wildcats and appraisals are typically AFE'd on a dry-hole basis.  I.e., P&A.  In the event of success, everyone is only too happy to change plans.  If they find something, they'll have to case it off. Cement plugs will be set at the bottom and above any pay zone, within the casing.  Years later, if the well is capable of production, the well can be re-entered, the plug drilled out, and the productive zone completed.  Plugged doesn't always mean Abandoned, although that's what they call it.

NorthOil -  Agree with your comments 100%.  Every well is eventually P&A'd, sometimes temporarily but ultimately without any desire or reason to re-enter.  That cost is built in to the pre-drill AFE.  So just because there is a P&A cost line and reference in the original report, that in no way means they were stating there was not a chance of making a commercial well.  Until this well is at final TD and logged, there is always a possiblilty that the pay zone just has not yet been reached.

What is your opinion as to why the E/A carbonate was not at the depth of the rest of the E/A field (i.e. roughly horizontal to the A5 offset)?  To me there are 2 posssiblities: 1) the Reef has simply pinched out and is no longer present at this vertical spot.  2) The often talked about Western fault lies between A5 and A7 and the E/A carbonate is downthrust from the original horizontal plane that the current reservoir belongs to.

I believe in option 2 as the reason.  I am hopeful they will drill the current sidetrack deep enough to intersect the carbonate and see if it still has good quality and whether it is gas or water bearing at the new deeper location.  What are your thoughts?

_________________________________________________

Bdahl  - good call on both your posts.  Oil Search did not participate 23% in a $50m? $70m? well expecting a “duster” .  And anyway, Total is the majority partner and operator.  Their model is screwed for sure.

While reefs can and do abruptly end, I think you’re right – they appear to have gone through the thrust fault  much higher than anticipated and are drilling in a “repeat” younger section again. There should be markers in the repeated section which would tell them just how far down, barring further thrusting, the Antelope reservoir is.  If they find something, of course, it would be a totally separate accumulation.  That’s not even talking about the original “deep” prospect, which may now be even deeper, or COULD be the where the mismapped E/A reservoir ended up in the downthrust block.

Good luck in applying Archie in this dog’s breakfast.

[bdahl385]

"Good luck in applying Archie in this dog’s breakfast."

Aw c'mon, all I want to see is >250m of 100+ ohms and crossplot porosities in the upper teens.   That will make Archie a happy camper  ....   Too bad though that we won't directly benefit if they do find this now.  The CRP would not be using any of this since it is now outside of the E/A compartment and thus part of the "freebie" accumulations that XOM, TOT and OSH now get to exploit.

Perhaps OSH will be bitten twice and A7 ends up like the recent Strickland 1 ST4 well where they encountered a thrust repeat without finding the primary objective and thusly plugged and abandoned the well.