Cairn finds gas at Sri Lanka's first discovery
Cairn Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. said it found what appears to be gas with liquids potential at the first hydrocarbon discovery in Sri Lanka.
Logs and MDT data indicate a gross 25 m hydrocarbon column in a sandstone at 3,043.8-3,068.7 m in the CLPL-Dorado-91H/1z well in 1,354 m of water in the Gulf of Mannar. The sandstone is interpreted to be mainly gas bearing with some additional liquid hydrocarbon potential, Cairn Lanka said.
The discovery is 175 km north-northwest of Colombo and 200 km south of the southernmost discovery in the Cauvery basin off India.
The well is the first in Sri Lanka in 30 years and the first in a three-well program in the Mannar basin. Cairn didn’t provide the total depth of the well. Cairn in September 2008 signed official documents to explore 3,000 sq km block SL 2007-01-001, in which it holds 100% participating interest, and committed to a $110 million exploration program.
Further drilling will be required to establish the commerciality of the discovery, Cairn Lanka said.
Alan Petzet | Chief Editor Exploration
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.