Sound Oil to drill 3 more exploration wells in two blocks

By Romel S. Gurky

As drilling at Jatayu-1 well is underway that followed the Cataka-1 drilling earlier in the year ? both at the Citarum PSC, UK-based oil and gas company Sound Oil plc has been informed by the operator that drilling in the third well, Geulis-1, would also take place this year along with drilling at two exploration wells in the Bangkanai PSC in Kalimantan.

At Citarum PSC onshore West Java, Sound holds a 20 percent interest with the operator, Canada-based firm Pan Orient, holding 77 percent. Meanwhile, Sound holds 5 percent interest in the Bangkanai PSC with Salamander as the operator controlling 80 percent.

In its quarterly report, Sound Oil announced that the first well, Cataka-1, experienced difficulties in drilling the upper section so it was later abandoned. The rig has now moved to the second location, Jatayu-1, where drilling had commenced in March and will then move to the third well Geulis-1.

The Jatayu and Geulis prospects have been estimated by Fugro Robertson to contain gross P50 prospective resources of 288 and 26 bscf respectively, it said in the report.

At the Bangkanai PSC, Sound said that the operator, Salamander, has made considerable progress throughout the last year to put the exploration and development program into a firm basis and secure the PSC in force.

Drilling of two exploration commitment wells will commence at the Kerendan field after Q2, 2012, with a view to establishing first gas by end of 2013, it said.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana