Santos and Carnarvon receive Dorado 3D seismic data

Preliminary processed data from the 2019 Keraudren 3D seismic survey over the Dorado discovery in the Bedout subbasin off Western Australia received by the Santos/Carnarvon joint venture shows a marked improvement in data quality from previous surveys in the area.

Carnarvon said this week that interpretation of the new dataset is underway and already it is clear that the objective of gaining superior quality data over Dorado has been achieved.

The company said this will be important for better defining development plans for the field as well as for establishing high quality exploration targets in the surrounding area.

The 3D data was acquired using a new seismic methodology designed to enhance the quality of data over the four targeted reservoir intervals found and appraised the three Dorado wells drilled in 2018 and 2019.

The Keraudren survey was extended to include a number of previously identified near-field exploration prospects and leads.

Carnarvon said the assessment of these prospects and leads will take place throughout 2020 to enable a drilling campaign to commence in 2021, subject to approvals and rig availability.

Meantime, work is moving towards commencement of a front-end engineering and design phase for Dorado and the Keraudren data will aid the subsurface plans, particularly concerned with the positioning and configuration of future production wells.

The survey was acquired across parts of WA-437-P and WA-438-P.