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AWE confirms drilling of Tuatara-1 well off South Island
7 May 2010 - Sydney-based oil explorer AWE Ltd has confirmed that it expects to drill the Tuatara-1 well at the south of the Taranaki Basin adjacent to D’Urville Island at the north of the South Island.
Sources: AWE and Lindsay Clark
Tuatara will be the last of the AWE-led four-well campaign off Taranaki using the Kan Tan IV rig which is currently drilling the second well, the Tui SW-1 at the Tui field.
AWE is also carrying out exploration work on a large, relatively shallow gas prospect called the Bahamas play further offshore in the Taranaki Basin.
AWE said in its March quarter report that it has progressed the necessary approvals under the Resource Management Act to drill the Tuatara-1 well. This followed an extensive and constructive set of negotiations with interested parties.
The company said that a farmout was progressing now that environmental approvals have been obtained. Currently AWE is a 100% owner of the Tuatara permit, PEP 38524.
In recent farmout information published on the OilVoice.com oil industry website, AWE said Tuatara is a 100 mmbbl oil prospect targeting a c.700 m sequence of stacked Miocene age turbidite fan sands in a 10 sq km pure dip closure analogous to the recently developed Maari field. The drilling site will lie in 50 m deep water.
AWE also supplied farmout information about the Bahamas biogenic gas play in PEP 38483 in which AWE is operator and holds a 44.32% interest. The Bahamas play targets the gas in a series of slope fans in a Pleistocene delta system that prograded very rapidly to form the western margin of the Taranaki shelf.
AWE said that over 10 Tcf potential is recognised and supported by extensive amplitude and AVO anomalies.
The Bahamas gas play target depths are of the order of 1,000 m lying in about 300 m of water with drilling costs estimated at US$18m. Between 30 and 50% equity in the permit is offered in return contribution on a two-to-one basis through the first well.
AWE said in the quarterly report that it planned further significant 2D seismic acquisition in the June 2010 quarter. This would cover the AWE operated PEP 51321 targeting shallow gas potential in the area, including additional areas of the Bahamas gas play, and the large permit PEP 38451 running into deepwater in which AWE holds a 10% stake.
Related links
Current wells and drilling - Crown Minerals Annual Report - Online technical database
