Western Gas launches high-impact exploration well offshore Australia
Australia’s Western Gas has announced that a semi-submersible rig owned by Valaris has started drilling its high-impact exploration well Sasanof-1, located offshore Australia.
The Australian company has been preparing since last year to drill the Sasanof-1 exploration well. The company found a partner to fund half of the drilling costs, got its environmental plan for operations accepted by the country’s regulator, and leased the Valaris MS-1 rig for the well.
By 12 May, the rig was anchored in Dampier’s outer harbor and was to begin towing to the location of Sasanof-1 several days later. The platform began its mobilization activities on May 18 and arrived at the location of the exploration well on the northwest plateau on May 23.
In its latest update, released on Friday, Western Gas said the well was doused by the 36-inch conductor jet at a water depth of 1068.3m below mean sea level (BMSL). Drilling is now underway on the 17-1/2″ midhole section to a depth of 2030m (BMSL), 13-3/8″ casing will then be poured and cemented.
This will be followed by drilling the 12-1/4″ hole section through the target reservoirs to a total depth of 2500m (BMSL).
Western Gas expects drilling in the target reservoir section to take place between June 2 and June 5, 2022.
The Sasanof prospect covers an area of up to 400 km2 and is on strike and up dip of Western Gas’ liquids-rich, low-CO2 Mentorc field. ERCE estimates that the Sasanof prospect contains a prospective 2U resource of 7.2 Tcf of gas and 176 million barrels of condensate (P50), with a high 3U prospective resource estimate of 17.8 Tcf of gas and 449 million barrels of condensate (P10).
Sasanof-1 will be Western Gas’ first well drilled from its extensive exploration portfolio around the existing Equus gas project which contains a discovered resource of 2 Tcf and 42 MMbbl and has a historic exploration drilling success rate of 88%, with 15 discoveries from 17 wells.
Western Gas is the operator of this prospect with a 52.5% interest and its partners are Global Oil and Gas with a 25% interest, Prominence Energy with a 12.5% interest and Clontarf Energy with a 10% interest. %.