Australia: New Standard Energy Spuds Nicolay-1 Well

New Standard Energy Spuds Nicolay-1 Well

New Standard Energy announced that its Nicolay #1 well was spudded on Saturday, commencing the first of a three well drilling program on the Goldwyer Project in the Canning Basin.

The MB Century Rig #14 is currently drilling ahead in a 17 ½ inch hole towards the first casing point on the way to a target depth of approximately 3,450 metres. The primary objective of the Nicolay #1 well is to gather a comprehensive, modern data set over a large section of the Goldwyer formation (primary target) via a detailed program consisting of mud logging, full coring and electric wireline logs to be taken over a significant thickness of prospective Goldwyer formation. Information regarding the secondary targets of the overlying Bongabinni and Nita formations will also be gathered.

Drilling to target depth is expected to take approximately 55 days (drill, log and suspend) and no horizontal drilling or hydraulic fracturing will be involved in this phase of the program.

New Standard Managing Director Sam Willis said the spudding of Nicolay #1 is an exciting milestone for New Standard shareholders as it marks the commencement of the first intensive, modern drilling program to be undertaken in over 30 years in the southern portion of the Canning Basin.

“Despite the early stage nature of the Goldwyer Project, the combination of New Standard’s pre-drill technical evaluation, the potential resource size as estimated by independent third parties and the technical input from Goldwyer co-venturer ConocoPhillips provides confidence to the company that the drill program was based on a solid foundation,” Mr Willis said.

Data will be acquired through a combination of full coring throughout the Goldwyer formation, sophisticated mud-logging and a comprehensive suite of electric wireline logs. Following data acquisition, a detailed set of scientific studies and analysis will be undertaken to fully assess the Goldwyer formation’s prospectivity in addition to targeted reservoir evaluation to be undertaken on site to gather detailed information on reservoir pressures and fracture potential of the Goldwyer formation. This information will assist in identifying which section(s) within the Goldwyer formation has the most prospective characteristics and help refine and delineate potential future target zones as a result.

“The data we will obtain from the mud logs and electric wireline logs together with the full cores that we retrieve will provide an important first look at the prospectivity of the Goldwyer formation and valuable information for future wells and subsequent phases of the exploration program,” Mr Willis stated.

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LNG World News Staff, August 20, 2012