Salamander drilling program in North Kutei on schedule

By Nellawati

UK energy company Salamander Energy Plc announced that the Ocean General rig expected to commence exploration drilling in North Kutei in December.

It said in an interim management report that the drilling program in North Kutei remains on schedule to start in December 2012.

South Kecapi will be the first well in a potentially high impact program, and will be followed by the North Kendang and Bedug wells; a program that will test combined mean prospective resource of 1.4 Tcf of gas and 189 MMbo.

Salamander is part of a four member consortium that has contracted the Ocean General semi-submersible rig.

The North Kutei is one of Salamander?s core areas, with potential mean recoverable resources of 3 Tcf of gas and 400 million barrels of oil. It is located within approximately 100 kilometers of the Bontang LNG plant.

In Greater Kerendan, forestry permits have now been awarded for the West Kerendan drilling location. Preparation of the West Kerendan drill pad will now follow, with the West Kerendan and Sungai Lahei prospects expected to spud early in 2013.

Together, these prospects target c. 900 Bcf of un-risked prospective resource.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana