COSL rig heads back home as Conrad wraps up Mako well testing

Conrad Petroleum has completed well testing operations on the Mako South-1 well in the Duyung PSC offshore Indonesia. The COSL Seeker drilling rig is currently demobilizing back to its home base in Labuan, Malaysia. 

Conrad owns 90% of West Natuna Exploration Limited (WNEL), a holding company that owns the Duyung PSC. Conrad is the operator of the PSC and Empyrean Energy is its partner, holding the remaining 10% interest.

The Mako appraisal well was spud with the COSL Seeker jack-up drilling rig in mid-June and reached total depth of 1,707 feet approximately ten days later.

Empyrean informed on Wednesday that the well performance was exceptional and that testing of the previously discovered gas-bearing sand at the Mako South-1 well has established 23 feet of net pay in the shallow Intra Muda Formation, with excellent quality rock, far better than Conrad’s original prognosis. The well flowed high quality gas that is close to 100% methane, with no CO2, H2S, or other contaminants. No sand production was recorded during testing, the company added.

As reported in late June, a final stabilized flow rate of 10.9 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfgpd) was reached during testing on fixed choke of 128/64. The flow rate was limited by the available down hole production testing equipment. Down hole pressure gauges retrieved following the flow test confirmed no pressure depletion over the extended production test. Conrad told Empyrean that the test results suggest that the reservoir consists of laterally continuous, high permeability sands in the multi Darcy range. Further permeability analysis will take place over the coming months on the core taken prior to flow testing.

Mako is a very large gas accumulation with a lateral extent of approximately 340km2. With the addition of the Mako South-1 well, four wells have now penetrated the Intra Muda Formation, but Mako South-1 is the only well to have been production tested. According to Empyrean, Conrad now plans to thoroughly analyse the latest information, both the production test and other down hole data including core, and aggregate it with that from previous wells in order to progress a development plan.

Tom Kelly, Empyrean CEO, commented: “The results have exceeded everyone’s expectations. An excellent flow rate of 10.9 million cubic feet of gas per day that was limited by the available down hole equipment and may, subject to full analysis of core and other data have room for improvement is simply such a pleasing result for all of our shareholders.

“These results dramatically de-risk this project and confirm a very large accumulation of gas with terrific reservoir quality in a region that achieves high gas prices due to high regional demand.”