09-04-2014, 03:05 AM
PNG basks as drillers vie for best on offer
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By Russell Searancke Wellington 22 August 2014 00:00 GMT
Exploration drilling in Papua New Guinea is on a roll with upwards of 10 rigs working for operators determined to find substantial gas discoveries, with preferably a healthy topping of associated liquids.
All of the current drilling action is onshore. Most of the activity in PNG has traditionally been in the rugged Southern Highlands, where ExxonMobil and Oil Search dominate.
However, nowadays the action extends out west into the more benign Western Province, where Talisman Energy and Horizon Energy are leading the trailblazing Stanley field development, and out east in the Eastern Papuan basin, where InterOil is busy in the Elk-Antelope area.
The success enjoyed by these companies has provoked so much industry interest that there is almost no available acreage.
InterOil’s success in the Eastern Papuan basin has led to big companies such as Total, Oil Search and Pacific Rubiales taking up a position in a joint venture with InterOil, or under their own steam.
InterOil currently has three rigs working in the Elk-Antelope area, where it started a three-well campaign in March.
The Bobcat and Raptor wells are being drilled while the Wahoo prospect has been suspended temporarily, with all three probes tackling complex downhole and reservoir issues that InterOil had forewarned about.
InterOil is also aiming to drill at least five more wells in the area, starting in the second half of this year with two appraisal wells on the Antelope field. An appraisal is also planned on the Triceratops discovery and, subject to joint venture approval, there is the possibility of another Antelope appraisal, in addition to an exploration well on the Antelope Deep prospect.
Up in the Highlands, Oil Search and ExxonMobil are busy finishing development wells at the large Hides field, which is the principal source for the PNG liquefied natural gas project.
They have Rigs 702 and 703 owned by Nabors Corporation on location for two or three more production wells and then they aim to spud in the fourth quarter a much-anticipated exploration prospect called Hides-5, also known as Hides Deep.
The project partners believe the Hides field could be larger than already mapped, and Hides-5 will explore the Koi-Iange reservoir about 700 metres below the proven Toro formation.
While much of the attention in PNG is on gas and associated liquids, Oil Search has a long-established oil business, and will soon spud a near-field exploration well in the Kutubu oil area called Usano-4 using High Arctic Energy’s Rig 104.
The drilling unit is being mobilised to the Usano-4 site, and will test a similar forelimb structure underlying the producing Usano field.
Over in the Western Province, also known as the Forelands, Talisman and Horizon are about to spud the final development well for the Stanley gas recycling project, which is the first field development in this region.
Parker Drilling’s Rig 226 will begin drilling the Stanley-3 production well on about 22 August.
After that, Horizon has its sights pointed on the Nama-1 exploration well in the permit that sits alongside the Stanley licence.
Horizon plans to spud Nama-1 in late-October, and says the prospect has a potential resource size similar to that of the Stanley field, which is certified at 399 billion cubic feet of gas and 13 million barrels of condensate.
Talisman is trying to build a large gas resource in the same province to underpin a LNG development, and has just completed a successful three-well exploration campaign.
Two of the three wells — Manta and NW Koko — flowed a combined 90.5 million cubic feet per day of gas during testing.
Talisman and Horizon’s successes have enticed major companies to join them, including Mitsubishi, Osaka Gas and Santos.
Leading Indonesian independent Medco Energi is another to be wooed by the promise of the Western Province, where it holds one onshore permit.
Meanwhile, UK player Heritage Oil is about to begin a two-well exploration campaign in the frontier North New Guinea basin.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Ltd also made a move into PNG a few years ago when it bought a 70% equity interest in a company called PNG Energy and that company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Gini Energy.
The Chinese giant is currently the operator of two onshore permits in the Highlands, as well as two offshore permits. It is understood CNOOC is doing geophysical analysis of its permits.