Nido: Drilling program at Baronang, Gurita PSCs scheduled in November
Monday, October 14 2013 - 03:29 AM WIB
ASX-listed Nido Petroleum Ltd said that drilling program at two exploration wells in the Baronang and Gurita PSCs, offshore Riau Islands, targeting multi-million barrels of oil is scheduled for November of this year.
The company, which owns 10 percent participating interest in both PSCs, operated by Swedish-listed Lundin Petroleum, said in a statement obtained Monday that the Hakuryu 11 jack-up rig will be mobilized from its current operation in Vietnam to the Baronang PSC, where it will commence drilling the Balqis-1 exploration plus Boni-1 sidetrack. Following the drilling in Baronang, the rig will then move to the Gurita PSO where it will drill the Gobi-1 exploration well.
In the event the Hakuryu 11 rig is released after November for any reason, the Gobi-1 exploration well will need to be re-sequenced to the second half of 2014, the company said.
The Balqis-1 exploration well plus Boni-1 sidetrack is located along a prominent NW-SE trending wrench fault system located in the central part of the PSC. The structural trend is located immediately west of a deep graben interpreted to contain mature oil prone syn-rift source rocks. The play concept being tested by the two wells is analogous to the producing fields in the adjacent Kakap PSC.
The Balqis-1 exploration well will test the oil potential of the primary Upper and Lower Gabus Formation sandstones in a 3D defined structural closure. Estimated prospective resource potential for the Gabus Formation reservoir objectives are 47 mmbbls (best case, gross, unrisked) Nido said.
The Boni-1 Prospect will be drilled as an exploration side-track from the Balqis-1 wellbore. The objective of the Boni-1 well is to test the oil potential of the Lower Gabus Formation where it onlaps the Balqis Basement high and forms a large stratigraphic trap. Estimated prospective resource potential for the Lower Gabus Formation reservoir objective is 55 mmbbls (best case, gross, unrisked).
The Gurita PSC is located adjacent to number of major oil and gas fields such as the Belida Field to the north-east of the Gurita PSC which had ~350 mmbbls reserves and peak production of 140,000bopd.
Operator?s 3D seismic mapping has identified a large portfolio of Prospects and Leads from which the Gobi Prospect has been high-graded for drilling. The Gobi-1 exploration well will test the oil potential of multiple reservoir objectives within the Lower Arang , Udang, Gabus and Belut Formations located within a 3D defined structural closure. Estimated prospective resource potential is estimated by Nido at 24 mmbbls (best case, gross, unrisked).
Nido is earning a 10% participating interest in each PSC by paying a disproportionate share of the exploration costs associated with the drilling of the wells as well as paying 10 percent of past costs.
It has the right to increase its participation interest in each of the three PSCs, up to a maximum of 20 percent.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak