Beach Energy has released the following monthly drilling report for February 2014.
Nappamerri Trough Natural Gas
Drilling of Etty-1, the sixth well in the vertical drilling campaign in ATP 855 (Beach Energy Ltd (Beach) 46.9% and operator, Icon Energy Ltd 35.1%, Chevron Exploration Australia 1 Pty Ltd 18%), commenced on 9 February 2014. Etty-1 is located 8.6km east of Halifax-1 and 20km northwest of Hervey-1. Etty-1 is designed to specifically target the basin centred gas potential of the Permian Formations, in the southern part of the Nappamerri Trough. Etty-1 is currently running intermediate casing after drilling to an intermediate depth of 2,665 metres in the Nappamerri Group. Etty-1 will be cased and suspended for fracture stimulation and production testing to assess the deliverability potential of the basin centred play.
Cooper Basin Oil and Gas – Exploration and Development
In the gas development program in Queensland (Beach 23.2%, Santos Ltd (Santos) 60.06% and Operator, Origin Energy Ltd (Origin) 16.5%, Australian Pacific LNG 0.24%), a three well drilling program on the Barrolka Field was completed by the drilling of the Barrolka-13. The program which consisted of Barrolka-11, 12, and 13 was successful with all wells being cased and suspended asToolachee and Patchawarra Formations gas wells.
In the South Australian Cooper Basin Joint Venture (SACB JV) (Beach 20.21%, Santos 66.6% and Operator, Origin 13.19%), the first Big Lake gas development pad drilling program (five well pad) was completed with Big Lake-99 reaching total depth of 3,074 metres and being cased and suspended as a future Toolachee, Daralingie, Epsilon, Patchawarra and Tirrawarra gas well.
Two further gas development pad drilling programs have commenced in the northern sector of the Big Lake Field. Big Lake-102 is the first well of a four-well pad program (Big Lake-102 to 105) and is drilling ahead, while Big Lake-106 has commenced drilling as the first well of the other four-well pad program (Big Lake-106 to 109).
Big Lake-100, a stand-alone vertical development well in the northern sector of the Big Lake Field reached a total depth of 3,031 metres and was cased and suspended as a Toolachee, Daralingie, Epsilon, Patchawarra Tirrawarra and Merrimelia gas well. Big Lake-101, a step-out gas appraisal well in the north-east flank of the field is drilling ahead in the Toolachee Formation.
Narie-3 (Beach 20.21%, Santos 66.6% and operator, Origin 13.19%) was drilled to a total depth of 2,816 metres and cased and suspended as a Toolachee, Patchawarra and Tirrawarra gas well.
In the SACB JV unconventional gas exploration program, the Moomba-193 ST1 well reached a total depth of 3,996 metres and was cased and suspended after drilling approximately 1000 metres of horizontal section in the Murteree Shale. This lateral will be fracture stimulated, with micro-seismic monitoring undertaken from the vertical Moomba-192 well. The Moomba-192 vertical well and the Moomba-193 ST1 horizontal well are part of the Aurora Project focusing on the Roseneath Shale, Epsilon Formation, Murteree Shale and Patchawarra Formation.
Otway Basin – South Australia
The Jolly-1 ST1 well in PEL 495 (Beach 70% and operator, Cooper Energy Ltd 30%) continued drilling in February 2014 with cores retrieved from the Lower Sawpit Shale and the Casterton Formation. Jolly-1 is designed to evaluate the potential of shale and tight sandstone in the Lower Sawpit Shale and the Casterton Formation, which have potential for liquids rich gas in the Penola Trough.