Beach Energy Updates on February Drilling Operations

Beach Energy Updates on February Drilling Operations

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.

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Press Release, March 05, 2014; Image: Beach Energy