Australia: Beach Energy Announces June Drilling Report

Beach Operated Cooper-Eromanga O¡l -Western Flank Three exploration wells and one development well have been drilled in the Western Flank region during the report period. ln the continuing PEL-92 campaign (Beach 75%), the Ensign#3O rig drilled the Turton-tr and Westall-1 exploration wells which were both plugged and abandoned without oil shows.

Subsequently, the Parsons-5 development well successfully drilled the southern culmination of the Parsons Field where the well intersected six metres of oil pay at the top of the target Namur Sandstone. The well has been cased and suspended as a future oil producer, The rig is currently moving to the Wheatons-L location, also within PEL-92 (Beach 75%).

Further north, Beach continued a second operated campaign in PEL-91 (Beach 40%) using the Ensign Rig#18. Like the first well of this campaign, the second well has resulted in a new-field oil discovery at Snellings-1 at the top of the Namur  Sandstone. A drill stem test of the uppermost Namur Sandstone (1-362 – 1365.5 metres) resulted in a recovery of 31.5 barrels of oil during a 2-hour flow period and the well has been cased and suspended for future production. The Snellings  location lies 1.9 kilometressouth from the Chiton Oilfield and 1.5 kilometres north of the Hanson discovery.

The third well of the campaign, Arno-1-, was drilling ahead at the time of reporting. There are two further approved exploratíon wells in this PEL-91 campaign (Beach 40%).

Santos Operated Cooper Basin Oil and Gas Development

Two further gas development wells were drilled in the Moomba Field (Moomba-186 and -187, Beach 20.2I%) and both were cased and suspended as future Toolachee Formation gas producers. The Saxon#183 drilling rig is currently preparing to move to the Tindilpie-11 location (Beach 20.27%1. A second Saxon rig, Saxon#1-82, completed its first well by drilling Nephrite South-6 during June. This well was cased and suspended as a future Patchawarra gas producer.

The third new Saxon rig, Saxon#184, drilled the Wandilo South-L oil exploration well in the Naccowlah Block in Queensland (Beach 38.5%). The well was plugged and abandoned after failing to encounter significant hydrocarbons and the rig is currently moving to the Zeus-2 well location (Beach 3o%).

Beach Operated Cooper Basin

Shale Gas Exploration – PEL 218

Fracture stimulation of the Holdfast-1 well (Beach 90%) was completed during mid/late June. A tota I of seven zones were stimulated, targeting the Roseneath Shale, the Epsilon Formation, Murteree Shale and (upper) Patchawarra Formation.  The clean-up and flow-test of Holdfast-1 has commenced and will continue during early July.

Kuwait Energy Operated Western Desert Oil

Exploration – Abu Sennan Concession, Egypt

The rig was released from IheZZ-4 well(Beach 22%) on 8 June 201.1 after the well was plugged back to 3850 metres and then cased and suspended for flow testing of the Alam El Bueib Formation and the Alamein Dolomite at a later date. The  rig has moved to Al Ahmadi-1 well site, approximately 2.5 kilometres to the southeast and at 30 June was 95% rigged up. Al Ahmadi-1 is the second well in a multi-well drilling program which is designed to test several play concepts within the Abu Sennan concession.

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Source: Beach Energy, July 6, 2011;