Continental, partner select E. Kalimantan drilling sites
Wednesday, May 14 2003 - 07:36 PM WIB
Continental said the first well to be drilled will be named Pungit-#1 and was planned to a total depth of 8,800 feet. ?It is located onshore near the oil lake formed by natural surface seeps and leaks from wellheads from an old oilfield active circa 1915 which produced from several shallow sand horizons,? the company said in a statement.
The second well would be named Sebaraba-#1 and it was planned to reach a total depth of 12,511 feet. It was located onshore and will test three separate potential oil producing zones on the end of a large trap formed by a rollover into a large regional fault, Continental said.
?The third well will be named Kuju-#1 and is located offshore in ten feet of water in the Bulungan River delta. It is planned to reach a total depth of 12,500 feet,? said the company.
?Drilling interest in East Kalimantan is heating up since several recent significant discoveries there by Unocal. Good quality seismic data has enabled us to pick these first three drilling locations to test multiple zones in each wellbore. Given the size of the potential hydrocarbon traps we see on seismic at each zone, a discovery in any one of the 10 target zones to be tested in these 3 wells could be a company maker,? said Continental's Chief Geophysicist, Jim Haebig.
According to the statement, all three of the exploration wells are scheduled for drilling in second half of 2003 and will be paid for by China Wisdom International (HK) Ltd. as part of their farm-in obligations into the Bengara-II PSC.
As previously reported, Continental had decided to farm-out a 40 percent share of its majority owned Apex (Bengara-II) Ltd., the operator of the block, to China Wisdom. Under the farm-out agreement, aside from commitment to invest the next US$720,000 cash as a reimbursement of past costs, China Wisdom is also obliged to pay for 100 percent of the costs of drilling, testing and completing five (5) exploration wells on the block, three before end 2003 and two more by end 2004.
Upon fulfilling its farm-out agreement obligations China Wisdom shall have earned and take up a 40 percent share holding interest in Apex (Bengara-II) Ltd. Continental shall keep a 36 percent stake and existing partner, GeoPetro Resources Company, a 24 percent share. The name of Apex (Bengara-II) Ltd. will be changed to "Continental-Wisdom-GeoPetro (Bengara-II) Ltd."
Continental Energy Corporation is a small exploration company focusing its efforts on discovering reserves in Indonesia. Continental owns interests in three oil and gas concessions covering 3 million acres in Indonesia, the Bengara-II Block and the Bangkudulis Block and the Yapen Block.(robert)