Huge blow for oilfield redevelopment plan off Timor-Leste

Plans for an enormous oilfield redevelopment off the coast of Timor-Leste have taken an enormous blow following the disappointing outcomes of a newly drilled appraisal effectively.

Operator Carnarvon Vitality revealed Monday that wireline logging operations had been accomplished on the Buffalo-10 effectively, with the beforehand introduced found oil column decided to be residual and uncommercial.

It added that it will perform work to depart the effectively “in a secure situation” earlier than the jack-up rig Valaris 107 is demobilised.

Carnarvon had hoped that success at Buffalo-10 would spur a redevelopment of the oilfield which was shut-in by Nexen Petroleum in 2004.

The sector was initially found in 1996 by BHP, with output commencing in 1999 and reaching charges of as much as 50,000 barrels per day. Nonetheless, manufacturing had fallen to about 4000 bpd by the point it was shut-in, having produced roughly 20.5 million barrels of oil since start-up.

Previous to drilling, Carnarvon had positioned the mid-case recoverable volumes at Buffalo at 31 million barrels on a gross finest estimate contingent useful resource foundation, believing there was a “robust probability Buffalo-10 will affirm a sanctionable growth mission primarily based on the minimal financial area dimension”.

Upstream has contacted Carnarvon for extra particulars on what the drilling outcomes at Buffalo-10 imply for its general area redevelopment plans.

The sector sits in Timor-Leste’s unique waters, and is owned by Carnarvon and 50:50 associate Advance Vitality.

JV associate’s feedback

Advance’s chief govt Leslie Peterkin stated the effectively outcomes have been “each disappointing and vastly stunning given the independently-verified danger evaluation which confirmed a highly-likely industrial end result from the effectively”.

He stated the three way partnership had invested “a major quantity of technical work into the mission which underpinned our excessive diploma of confidence that the effectively would unlock the numerous worth of the sector”.

“The post-well analysis signifies that the effectively was drilled into the hanging wall of a fault, though uncertainty in seismic decision additionally contributed to the reservoir being considerably deeper than anticipated at this location.”

“It’s not the case that this end result implies that all the attic oil volumes licensed by RISC have been negated. The Buffalo three way partnership will conduct additional technical evaluation within the coming weeks to completely perceive why the attic was not encountered as prognoses on the drilled location.”

“We consider it’s seemingly that the JV will relinquish the Buffalo asset as neither firm needs to fund a second appraisal effectively within the area.”

Operator seems to Pavo and Apus

With the outcomes from the Buffalo-10 appraisal effectively proving to be disappointing, the operator indicated it will now flip its consideration again to promising exploration prospects offshore Western Australia.

“The outcomes from Buffalo-10 effectively are disappointing for the Carnarvon group and shareholders, however now our consideration strikes to the graduation of the excessive influence Pavo-1 and Apus-1 exploration wells throughout the subsequent month within the Bedout basin,” stated Carnarvon managing director Adrian Cook dinner.

The jack-up Noble Tom Prosser has been contracted to drill each wells, beginning with Pavo-1 and adopted instantly by Apus-1, with operator Santos anticipated to kick off drilling later this month.

The prospects lie close to the Santos-operated Dorado oil discovery, by which Carnarvon additionally holds a stake, with Pavo-1, in Block WA-438-P, concentrating on imply recoverable volumes of 82 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons and 108 billion cubic toes of gasoline within the Caley Fm interval.

Apus-1 is deliberate to be drilled in Block WA-437-P, and has two targets, with imply recoverable volumes of 235 million barrels and 408 Bcf (within the Caley and Milne Member sands).