Great Artesian told the Australian Stock Exchange this morning that an initial drill stem test failed to flow gas to surface from the interval 2721.5-2724m. But gas cut muddy water and a small amount of flared gas was recovered from the drill string.
Operator Beach Petroleum plans to log and evaluate several other zones that recorded elevated gas readings in the well, which is currently being drilled ahead at a depth of 2822m in the Merrimelia Formation.
Beach is funding Tennyson-1, the first of three wells, as well as 145 square kilometres of 3D seismic, in order to earn a 50% interest in the Beach farm-in block portion of PEL 106.
The well’s primary objective is the Patchawarra Formation, but there is also some secondary potential in the Toolachee Formation, Epsilon Formation and the Tirrawarra Sandstone, with each of these geological units being commercially productive elsewhere in the Cooper Basin, according to Great Artesian.
Tennyson-1 is now the ninth successive exploration well to be fully funded by farminees that Great Artesian has participated in since August 2005. The spudding of the well represents the first occasion since listing that Great Artesian is concurrently participating in the drilling of two exploration wells. The second well, Bellbird West-1 is an oil exploration well being drilled in ATP 552 in the Surat Basin.
