Central Petroleum begins Amadeus basin exploration program
Central Petroleum Ltd., Brisbane, has spudded the Palm Valley 12 (PV12) well in OL3, southwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
The well is the first of a two-well drilling program that also includes the Dingo-5 exploration/production well. Central holds 50% interest in PV12 and Dingo-5, which are free-carried for Central by New Zealand Oil & Gas (35%) and Cue Energy Resources (15%) and are scheduled to be completed this year (OGJ Online, May 31, 2021).
PV12 has two alternative objectives, consisting of a deeper gas exploration target or a shallower gas appraisal lateral that could become a production well.
The PV12 exploration target is the Arumbera sandstone at an anticipated vertical depth of 3,560 m. The well will be drilled to a total vertical depth of 3,980 m—the deepest to be executed in the Amadeus basin. The target interval is also the gas-producing zone at Central’s Dingo gas field, about 120 km to the east.
The well will be deviated at up to a 45° angle in the target zone to increase the exposure to potential formation fractures. The well is estimated to reach the exploration target in early June.
If the PV12 deep exploration objective is unsuccessful, the well will be plugged and side-tracked to test the shallower Pacoota sandstone (1,770 m depth), with the potential to become a production well.
The appraisal is designed as a deviated well extending up to 1,000 m within the Pacoota sandstone, which is the current producing zone for Palm Valley field. The lateral design is similar to the PV13 appraisal well drilled in 2019, which had a lateral extension of only 300 m.
'We have worked hard over the past year to lay the groundwork for the current two-well exploration program and three sub-salt exploration wells next year, giving us a total of 5 exploration wells over the next 18 months,” said Leon Devaney, managing director and chief executive officer.
The company is looking for opportunities to expand the drilling program to include an oil exploration well at Mamlambo and gas appraisal wells in the Mereenie stairway, he continued.