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Austral Pacific’s Cheal-A7 step out well finds oil
25 July 2008, Sources: Austral Pacific Energy and Lindsay Clark - Austral Pacific Energy has discovered oil bearing sands in its step-out Cheal-A7 well in its Cheal field in onshore Taranaki.
Earlier the company had found sub-economic sand at its Cheal-A6 and sidetrack Cheal-A6ST wells which have now been plugged and abandoned.
Austral Pacific said its discovery well Cheal-A7 intercepted seven metres of oil bearing sands in the Mt Messenger 3 Formation at approximately 1,695 m and the Mt Messenger 2 sand at 1,730 m as prognosed by 3D seismic.
The well was now being completed and a temporary tie back prepared to the Cheal production facility, to production test the well.
Austral Pacific chief executive Thom Jewell said the well has the potential to increase Cheal field production to approximately 650 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from current levels of about 420 bopd.
He said the well also confirmed the accuracy of the seismic model that Austral Pacific used to improve the probability of drilling successful wells and expanding this play trend.
The sub-economic Cheal-A6 and A6ST wells, which were targeting a separate lobe of sand from the main Cheal A pool, both found net sand intervals interpreted to be some two metres thick, thinner than prognosed and not economic to complete and produce.
Meanwhile Austral has been informed by Origin Energy that the Waihapa production station, which has been taking gas from the Cheal field, is being temporarily shut down due to inadequate supplies of gas from other sources.
