PEL 57 OTWAY BASIN, SOUTH AUSTRALIA VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL INTEREST - 10%
Victoria Petroleum NL has a 10% interest in PEL 57 which covers an area of 794 square kilometres in the onshore Otway Basin.
Exploration has now focussed on the north western portion of the area with the planned Honans Scrub seismic program of 60 kilometres over the Orana Prospect to be carried out in the second quarter of 2002.
Origin Energy is the operator of the PEL 57 Joint Venture and the adjacent Katnook/Hazelgrove producing gas fields.
NEW CALEDONIA PRA 436 (RENEWAL APPLICATION) NEW CALEDONIA BASIN, NEW CALEDONIA VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL INTEREST - 33%
The Participants in the PRA 436 exploration effort are currently studying the potential for a second well on the Gouaro Prospect in conjunction with a renewal application over the area.
The first well, Cadart-1, was drilled to a total depth of 1930 metres in January 2000. An open-hole test of the interval 1650-1930 metres produced gas to surface at a rate too small to measure. After a 36-hour flow test, the well bridged off and the gas flow died. Subsequent attempts to sidetrack the well and re-drill the prospective section were unsuccessful and the well was abandoned on 17th February 2000.
A ready market for gas to electricity from 6 million cubic feet per day up to 50 million cubic feet per day potentially increasing to 100 million cubic feet per day in 2003, at attractive gas prices is available for the adjacent industrial and nickel refining operations in New Caledonia.
Victoria Petroleum NL considers the frontier nature of oil and gas exploration in New Caledonia is more than offset by the extremely strong market demand for any locally discovered and produced hydrocarbons to replace the 2 million barrels of diesel and fuel oil imported each year to generate electricity for New Caledonia and the encouraging oil and gas shows and gas flow to surface from the Cadart-1 drilling.
Victoria Petroleum NL is the Operator of the PRA 436 Joint Venture.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA PPL 228 PAPUAN BASIN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL INTEREST - 15%
Petroleum Prospecting Licence PPL 228 was issued in September 2001 as a result of the top-file over the more prospective portions of PPL 202 and 213. PPL 228, formerly PPL 202 and PPL 213, lies in the mid western extremities of Papua New Guinea. The OK Tedi copper mine and the river port of Tabubil, laying within the western portion of the licence area, are the major and only infrastructure centres in this part of the country.
The Joint Venture considers the area of PPL 228 as being cursorily explored in both the highland and foreland areas of the Fold Belt. The Tarim 1 well, drilled in the highlands of the Fold Belt in the northeastern portion of the licence in 1990, tested gas and trace condensate from the Toro and Digumu Sandstones over the interval 3,378 metres to 3,499 metres, but good oil shows within sandstones of the Alene Member of the Toro Sandstone remained untested due to mechanical problems in the well. Similarly, good oil shows were encountered in the Alene Member in the Menga Anticline drilled by Menga No. 1 in 1995. As a generalisation the major folds and stratigraphy that contain substantial producing hydrocarbon fields such as Hides, Moran, Iagifu, Hedina and Gobe trend into this portion of the permit from the southeast.
The prospectivity of the foreland portion of the Fold Belt is promoted by the untested 7.8 metre net gas/condensate discovery in the Toro Sandstone in a compartment of the overlapping Stanley Prospect in PPL 157, and similar encouragement from the large Elevala 1 trillion cubic feet and 60 million barrels gas/condensate discovery and its yet explored down dip oil-leg potential in the same south bounding permit
A complete review of the prospect and lead inventory on the permit, inclusive of extensive geological studies and financial modelling, has been carried out by the Operator, Barracuda. High graded prospects and leads have resulted with the delineation of the Amdi (775 million barrels), Tarim (300 million barrels, Muir (171 million barrel), Champion (390 million barrels) prospects.. These are located where infrastructure is good and geological and structural risk is reduced; ie target depth is shallow and hydrocarbons are known to be present from the previous drilling of Tarim No. 1 and Menga No. 1.
In the next few months the joint venture will commence a field program of geotraversing and seismic to confirm the Amdi Anticline (up to 755 million barrels of oil potential) as a drill target for 2003. Amdi lies between the previously drilled Menga structure that had good oil shows in the Alene reservoir, but structure had been breached, and the large 2.5 trillion cubic feet and 35 million barrel Pynang Gas/Condensate Field. It is thought that late gas charge displaced the majority of what must have been a substantial oil reservoir from the Pynang structure, to migrate oil northwest into the Amdi and Tarim Prospects.
Santos Ltd is the Operator of the PPL 228 Joint Venture.
J Kopcheff MANAGING DIRECTOR
For information on Victoria Petroleum NL drilling activities visit our website at www.vicpet.com.au
For information on Kestral Energy, Inc US drilling and development activities visit the Kestrel Energy, Inc website at www.kestrelenergy.com
VPE Price at posting:
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