Exoma Finds Hydrocarbons Onshore Eromanga Basin
Australia’s Exoma Energy has suspended work on its Katherine-1 well on ATP 999P in Queensland’s onshore Eromanga basin after finding hydrocarbons.
The well, located 60 kilometres south southwest of Longreach, was spudded in August to target shale gas in the Toolebuc formation at a depth of 590 metres.
Katherine-1 is the fifth well of Exoma’s current 12 well drilling campaign in the Eromanga and Galilee basins.
In an announcement today, Exoma said it had recovered 42 meters of core through the Toolebuc shale, above the 38 meters expected.
The core was yielding hydrocarbons while undergoing desorption testing, similar to the cores of neighboring wells Bessies-1 and Euston-1, with Exoma saying they confirmed the presence of live hydrocarbons across much of the 6180 square kilometer permit area.
Exactly how Exoma would conduct its appraisal and production-testing program for 2012 would depend on the results of specialist core testing and analysis, the company said.
The well had been drilled to a total depth of 1207 meters following the coring operation to test the extension of the 1989 oil discovery at Toobrac-1, about one kilometer west.
Log analysis indicated the presence of a number of oil zones totaling about 10 meters of potential net oil pay, Exoma said
a series of drill stem tests were performed through the casing, and gas-cut fluid was recovered during the tests but the company could not recover a representative hydrocarbon sample using the available equipment due to drilling and cement damage to the reservoir.
The well has been suspended pending a workover with a specialist rig and comprehensive production testing of oil zones – work planned for early 2012.
Meanwhile, the Atlas-1 rig has been released and will be moved to the Prairie-1 coal bed methane well on the neighboring ATP 996P.
Exoma has a 50% stake in ATP 999P with China National Offshore Oil Corporation earning a 50% participating interest through a farm-in. That deal will see it fund the initial A$50 million (US$51.9 million) of joint venture expenditures on ATP’s 991, 996, 999, 1005 and 1008.