Beach Energy Provides January Drilling Report, Australia

Australia’s Beach Energy has released its monthly drilling report for January 2013.

Operated Cooper Basin Unconventional Gas Program

PEL 218 (Beach 100%)

The flow testing of Moonta-1 (Patchawarra Formation) continued throughout January, with the well now producing at 1.2 MMscf/d. Gas flow from Moonta-1 represents proof of concept for the deep tight basin centred gas play that is thought to extend across the entire PEL 218 area and is the first step in assessing its commercial potential. Beach committed to an eight well vertical exploration program in early 2012 after the Holdfast-1 and Encounter-1 results proved the existence of shale gas in the same area. The aim of the eight well program is to confirm the lateral extent of the shale play, address the deeper potential of a basin centred gas play, and ascertain which areas in the permit might be high-graded for early pilot production wells. Moonta-1 is the first well to demonstrate recoverable gas through the full Patchawarra section with gas flow from intervals up to half a kilometre deeper than previous exploration wells on the structural highs. Beach’s program is a stepwise fracture stimulation progression such that it incorporates previous results to build a thorough understanding of individual geological units, prospective areas and optimal fracture stimulation design.

The shallower Permian targets within Moonta-1 (the Toolachee, Daralingie, Roseneath and Epsilon Formations) are yet to be fracture stimulated and will be assessed in stimulation and testing activities later in 2013.

Drilling commenced at Nepean-1, the fifth well in the current eight-well vertical exploration program in PEL 218. The well is drilling ahead at 2,855 metres in the upper part of the Permian section after intermediate casing was set in the Nappamerri Formation.

In addition to the vertical exploration program, Beach is undertaking a two well horizontal program in the thick Murteree shale. The first horizontal well of the unconventional gas campaign, Holdfast-2, is drilling ahead in the horizontal section in the Murteree Shale. Approximately 400 metres of Murteree section has been drilled of a planned horizontal length of 1.6 kilometres. It is anticipated that the well will be fracture stimulated in April 2013.

The post-fracture stimulation clean out of Streaky-1 has been suspended pending the arrival of specialised equipment required to retrieve implements stuck in the hole. Following the resumption of coiled tubing milling operations, anticipated in mid-March, the production tubing will be installed with flow testing expected in early April.

ATP 855P (Beach 60%)

Fracture stimulation was completed at Halifax-1 with 14 stages successfully placed across the Permian targets; the Patchawarra Formation, Murteree Shale, Epsilon Formation, Roseneath Shale, Daralingie Formation and Toolachee Formation. The well was cleaned out with coiled tubing milling operations, and will have the completion string installed shortly. It is anticipated that flowback operations will commence in the coming days.

Operated Cooper-Eromanga Gas – Patchawarra Trough

Two gas exploration wells, Rosetta-1 and Destrees-1, were drilled in PEL 106B (Beach 50%). The wells are located approximately six kilometres north and three kilometres east, respectively from Brownlow-1. Gas shows were encountered in each well, however reservoir quality associated with the shows was poor. With other good-quality sands water-saturated at these locations, the joint venture elected to plug and abandon both wells. The fourth and final well in the approved PEL 106B program, Euler-1, is scheduled to be drilled in June.

Santos Operated Cooper Basin Oil and Gas Exploration and Development

Gas development drilling continued in the Baryulah field in Queensland (Beach 23.20%), where Baryulah-16 intersected multiple gas sands within the Toolachee, Daralingie and Patchawarra Formations. Baryulah-16 was subsequently suspended due to operational issues with the rig moved to continue the drilling program. Baryulah-13 has since spudded and is currently drilling through the Patchawarra Formation primary target.

In the South Australian sector of the Cooper Basin (Beach 20.21%), the Munkarie-10 development well was cased and suspended as a future gas producer, and drilling is underway in the Dullingari-61 and Brumby-13 development wells.

The drilling of Gaschnitz-ST1 unconventional gas exploration well in PPL 101 (Beach 20.21%) continued to a total depth of 3,889 metres, with wireline evaluation currently being conducted. A second unconventional gas exploration well, Roswell-1, reached a total depth of 3,218 metres and was cased and suspended for future evaluation.

In Queensland, a six well oil drilling program in the T66 block (Beach 30%) concluded with the plugging and abandonment of the Cudgel-1 exploration well after it encountered only minor oil shows.

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LNG World News Staff, February 06, 2013