Indonesia: Ophir confirms Paus Biru-1 gas discovery

Offshore oil and gas company Ophir Energy has confirmed it has made a gas discovery at its Paus Biru-1 exploration in the Sampang PSC offshore Indonesia.

Paus Biru-1 location; Source: Cue Energy

Ophir’s partner in the block Cue Energy last week said the well was being plugged and abandoned but it did not, at the time, share the results of the drilling operation.

“The Paus Biru-1 exploration well has resulted in a gas discovery. The well was drilled to a total measured depth (MD) of 710 meters and encountered 29 meters of estimated net pay within the target Mundu formation carbonate reservoir,” Ophir said on Friday.

A drill stem test (DST) taken over an interval between 576 and 605 meters (MD) flowed gas at a rate of 11.2 MMscfd sustained over 5 hours period through a 64/64” choke and at 525 psig well head pressure. The well was shut in for 9 days for pressure build-up before a maximum flow test which produced 13.8 MMscfd through a 120/64” choke for 55 minutes.

The well has been plugged and abandoned as a gas discovery and plan of development will now be prepared for submission to the regulator for approval, Ophir said.

The Paus Biru discovery lies approximately 27 kilometers east of the producing Oyong Gas field, which is also in the Sampang PSC. The approved budget for Paus Biru-1 well was $15 million.

Alan Booth, Ophir Energy’s Interim CEO, said: “This is a strong endorsement of the assets acquired from Santos earlier this year.  Paus Biru is an example of the attractive near field exploration opportunities within the Sampang and Madura PSCs. Such discoveries can be highly valuable as they deliver both fresh production volumes and extend the economic life of the fields already in production.”

The Sampang PSC is operated by Ophir Energy’s subsidiary Santos Sampang Pty Ltd with a 45% interest. The partners are Singapore Petroleum Sampang Ltd with 40% and Cue Energy’s subsidiary Cue Sampang Pty Ltd with 15%.

In a separate statement on Friday, Cue Energy said the plan was to develop the Paus Biru-1 discovery through the existing Oyong facilities.

Matthew Boyall, Cue Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is an excellent result, which has been well executed by the operator Ophir Energy and is in-line with our pre-drill success case expectations. A future development of this resource is expected to provide sales gas volumes, as well as extending the life of the existing fields and facilities within the Sampang PSC. We look forward to working with the joint venture on a Plan of Development, with commercialization through the existing Oyong facilities, for submission to the regulator for approval.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff