Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. has begun drilling the horizontal section of the Kyalla 117 N2-1H appraisal well in Beetaloo subbasin, Northern Territory, Australia. The company is also evaluating the Kyalla 117 N2-1 vertical well.
A joint-venture between Falcon (30%) and Origin Energy (70%) elected to land the horizontal well within the Lower Kyalla shale, at ~1800 m TVD. The horizontal section will be drilled for 1,000-2,000 m. On completion of drilling, the horizontal section will be fracture stimulated and production tested.
Vertical-well evaluation identified three source rock reservoir (SRR) sections within the Kyalla shale formation, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Kyalla. The Kyalla shale measured almost 900 m thick. Gross thickness of each SRR interval is 75-125 m. Each SRR exhibited elevated gas shows with relatively high C3, C4, and C5 components. Diagnostic fracture injection tests (DFIT) were performed on each SRR.
Ongoing analysis of conventional cores acquired in each of the Upper and Lower Kyalla reservoir sections, along with sidewall cores, DFITs, and extensive wireline logging, will enable a full-scale evaluation of prospectivity of the Kyalla formation in the central part of Beetaloo subbasin.
Beetaloo, about 600 km south-southeast of Darwin, contains rocks of Proterozoic age within the larger McArthur basin.