Santos hits dry hole at Merem-1 well, discovers gas at Melewis-1
Friday, April 22 2016 - 02:22 AM WIB
ASX-listed Santos Ltd said that it has encountered dry hole during recent drilling of the Merem-1 well in Madura Offshore block, East Java.
The company said in a first quarter 2016 financial report seen Friday that it has abandoned and plugged the Merem-1 well. ?The Merem-1 well failed to encounter hydrocarbons and was plugged and abandoned,? it said.
The company, however, said that it has discovered gas during drilling of the Melewis-1 well. ?The Melewis-1 well encountered a gas column which is currently being evaluated via drill stem testing,? Santos said.
The company started drilling of the Merem-1 well on March 12 of this year, followed with Melewis-1 well. The wells were spudded using the Raniworo jack up rig owned by IDX-listed oil and gas drilling contractor PT Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk. Apexindo Corporate Secretary Frieda Salvantina told this portal previously that the drilling program was expected to be completed in June or July of this year.
Santos has a 67.5 percent interest and is the operator of Madura Offshore PSC. Other partners are PC Madura Ltd and PT Petrogas Pantai Madura. As reported earlier in this portal, Santos Indonesia has allocated between US$15 and $20 million in capital expenditures for exploration activities in Indonesia this year.
Elsewhere, Santos said in the report that a two-well near-field exploration program was conducted in the Madura Straits, offshore East Java, targeting the Pliocene-aged Mundu Formation which is productive in the adjacent Santos-operated Maleo and Peluang fields.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak