Junior partner Pan Pacific Petroleum told the market yesterday that the well intersected the Maitland reservoir as prognosed.
Following wireline logs, Apache as operator plans to sidetrack the well to collect two cores for reservoir quality and permeability studies.
A horizontal sidetrack, Maitland-3H, will then be drilled to determine potential flow-rates from the well. A flow-testing program is expected in about a fortnight’s time.
Maitland-2, which is northwest of Barrow Island, was aimed at further appraising the potential of the Maitland gas field, discovered in 1992, through the evaluation of a stratigraphic trap defined by seismic amplitudes.
One appraisal well, Maitland North-1, was drilled in January 1996 and contains gas and condensate in the Paleocene-aged Maitland sandstone.
Based on new analyses performed by Apache Energy (the present operator of the joint venture), it is estimated Maitland has a gross gas column thickness of at least 23m.
The WA-33-R partners are Apache 48.82%, Tap Oil 22.47%Santos 18.71% and Pan Pacific Petroleum 10%.
