LOFIN-1 well shows stable gas rate on test

By Nellawati

Australia-listed Lion Energy Ltd said in an operation update that an exploration drilling at the LOFIN-1 well on Seram Island in eastern Indonesia has reached a depth of 4,383 meters measured depth with 379 feet of open-hole Manusela Formation below the 5 inch casing shoe.

The company said that on October 7, the well was trimmed to a test separator, and recorded stabilized gas rate of 6.903 mmscfd during the final five hours of the flow test. .

The flow rate was constrained by the pressure rating of the pipe-work downstream of the choke manifold, which was only tested to 700 psi. Several times during clean-up, the choke size had to be reduced as downstream pressure approached the test pressure of 700 psi, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The test was further complicated by hydrates forming in the flow lines as a result of the significant pressure drop across the choke manifold, it added.

To facilitate testing the well at higher flow rates, which the well is obviously capable of, will require additional equipment on site, including a line heater and higher pressure rated testing equipment.

It is planned to drill the well to a total depth of 4,475.8 meters (14,685 feet). The LOFIN prospect is a thrust fold four-way dip closure anticline, which is located 56 kilometers to the west of the producing Oseil oilfield that has produced in excess of 10 million barrels of crude oil since production start-up in late 2002.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak