ftg to open up northern perth basin: norwest

TP Note: I realise this article is a few weeks old now, however I am not sure it had been posted on the NWE threads before - if it has I didn't see it! - Pie (:
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Source: www.petroleumnews.net

FTG to open up northern Perth Basin: Norwest
Wednesday, 9 September 2009

PERTH-based junior Norwest Energy expects its recently completed airborne gravity survey to pave the way for onshore and offshore drilling campaigns in the northern Perth Basin.


Bell Geospace, using a plane chartered from Slingair, about to start a FTG survey

The airborne full tensor gravity gradiometry imaging (FTG) survey carried out by Bell Geospace covered the company’s 100% held offshore permit TP/15, as well as its onshore North Erregulla oil prospect that straddles EP368 and EP426.

Bell is expected to process the survey and deliver a report within 30 days.

Norwest will then integrate the FTG data with existing data – a process expected to be completed by early November – allowing it to optimise drilling sites targeting the Xanadu and Capel/Metricup structures in TP/15 as well as the onshore North Erregulla oil prospect.

“The North Erregulla-1 well drilled in 1967 confirmed a live oil system and found good quality oil,” Norwest chief executive officer Peter Munachen said.

“We also know the geological strata that are the oil reservoir objectives at this prospect produce commercial quantities of oil elsewhere in the onshore northern Perth Basin.

“We know there’s oil at North Erregulla, and with modern survey technology we believe we can find the best place to drill for it.”

Norwest believes the North Erregulla structure also holds significant gas potential in deeper strata.

The bulk of the North Erregulla prospect is in Empire Oil and Gas’s EP 426 permit but the North Erregulla-1 well is in Norwest’s EP 368 block.

The two companies are moving to unitise these permit interests and can now move to decide the best location for a North Erregulla-2 well up-dip from the North Erregulla-1 site.

Norwest added that while the TP/15 lease had been underexplored because a combination of shallow water and complex geology had made seismic acquisition and interpretation difficult and expensive, the company had little doubt that the block held substantial oil fields.

“Based on the P50 case, our Xanadu prospect could be half as big again as the producing Cliff Head field, which lies less than 10km to the northwest,” Munachen said.

The prospect is a large culmination on the Beagle Ridge – and a geologic lookalike to the Roc Oil-operated Cliff Head field – but it has been overlooked because seismic data covering the TP/15 permit is relatively sparse and poor quality due to the area’s difficult geology.

Norwest said it believed that FTG offered a cost-effective and efficient way to leverage off the existing seismic data at TP/15.

FTG measures the gradient of the Earth’s gravity field, recording shifts in the density of underlying rocks and can deliver results on both shallow and deeper targets.

It can provide strong 3D image quality and a detailed exploration dataset, helping to reduce risks and increase returns for petroleum explorers and producers.

“When combined with seismic data and regional well logs, FTG can greatly clarify the local geological picture,” Munachen said.

He added that not only did FTG cost significantly less than seismic acquisition, it could better define the reservoir at Xanadu – where the target reservoir cannot be easily detected with seismic alone – and increase the company’s understanding of where best to drill.

“In England, FTG has helped us see much deeper into the subsurface, and preliminary results have boosted our confidence that our preliminary geologic models are correct.

“FTG has revealed a whole series of four-way closures, which are classic oil and gas exploration targets,” Munachen said.

“We believe this technology offers a real edge for companies that have the expertise to use it effectively.

“Norwest believes our innovative use of FTG can help advance this project.

“Given the proximity of Xanadu and our other prospects and leads to producing fields, we are optimistic about our future chances of success.”


Ends.

Cheers, Pie (: