Amerada Hess discovers gas offshore Kalimantan

US oil, gas firm Amerada Hess has scored a discovery in its deepwater Tanjung Aru Block in the Makassar Straits offshore Kalimantan, Oil and Gas International reported Tuesday.

Amerada Hess revealed that its Halimun-1 exploratory well drilled by the Transocean Sedco 601 semisubmersible in the southeastern Mahakam Delta's barely explored waters went to a total depth of 7,877 feet beneath the seafloor in waters 3,480 feet deep.

Amerada Hess said the Halimun-1, the first of a two-well exploration program on the block for this year, was drilled in the northern sector of the block in the Kutei Basin, approximately 34 km south of an earlier Mobil duster drillsite.

The Sedco 601 was moved following the discovery well to drill the second exploration well, the Papandayan-1, some 14 km west of the discovery site. The Papandayan-1 is scheduled for a total depth of 8,700 feet targeting Late Miocene and Pliocene sandstones.

The Tanjung Aru Block is in one of the most prospective areas of the Kutei Basin, location of a number of recent sizable oil and gas discoveries. It covers an area of some 4,160 sq km and has water depths ranging from 492 feet to 5,577 feet.

The Block is operated by Amerada Hess in a 50:50 percent partnership with Malaysia's state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas). (*)