Beach Energy Updates on March Drilling Operations

Beach Energy has released the monthly drilling report for March 2014.

Nappamerri Trough Natural Gas

The Etty-1 vertical exploration well in ATP 855 (Beach Energy 46.9% and operator, Icon Energy 35.1%, Chevron Exploration Australia 18%) reached a total depth of 3,807 metres in the top of the Patchawarra Formation on 23 March 2014. Preliminary interpretation of wireline logs indicate the target interval to be gas saturated. Etty-1 will be cased and suspended for fracture stimulation and production testing, to assess the deliverability potential of the basin centred play. Etty-1 is the sixth and final exploration well drilled in the current campaign in ATP 855.

Cooper Basin Oil and Gas – Exploration and Development

In the South Australian Cooper Basin Joint Venture (Beach 20.21%, Santos 66.6% and operator, Origin Energy 13.19%), Big Lake-102 and -103, the first two wells of a four well pad development program (Big Lake-102 to -105), were cased and suspended as Patchawarra and Tirrawarra gas wells.

Big Lake-106, the first well of a separate four well pad development program (Big Lake-106 to -109) was cased and suspended as a Patchawarra and Tirrawarra gas well. The second well on this pad, Big Lake-107, is drilling ahead at 735 meters. Big Lake-101, a step-out gas appraisal well in the north east flank of the field, reached a total depth of 3,131 meters and was cased and suspended as a Toolachee, Daralingie, Epsilon, Patchawarra and Tirrawarra gas well.

Gas development drilling on the South Australian side of the Cooper Basin continued to target the Patchawarra and Tirrawarra Formations. Gooranie-6 was cased and suspended as a Patchawarra and Tirrawarra gas well, and Brolga-5 is drilling ahead at 1,896 meters in the Murta Formation.

In the Southwest Queensland Joint Venture (Beach 23.2%, Santos 60.06% and operator, Origin 16.5% and Australia Pacific LNG 0.24%), the Baryulah-18 gas development well was cased and suspended as a Toolachee, Epsilon and Patchawarra producer.

Otway Basin – South Australia

The Jolly-1 ST1 exploration well in PEL 495 (Beach 70% and operator, Cooper Energy 30%) was designed to evaluate the potential of shale and tight sandstone in the Lower Sawpit Shale and the Casterton Formation.

These formations have the potential for liquids rich gas in the Penola Trough. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4,026 metres and intersected thick sections of shales and sandstones, with elevated gas readings in the Lower Sawpit Shale and Casterton Formation from a depth of 3,430 meters. Cores were retrieved from the Lower Sawpit Shale (26.7 metres) and the Casterton Formation (51.1 metres) and will be analysed for porosity, permeability and gas content. After completing the drilling operations and well site evaluation program of Jolly-1 ST1, cement plugs will be run.