The $260 million project is expected to enter its second stage this weekend, with the departure of the Ocean Patriot drilling rig from the field to make way for the mid-October arrival of the project’s production and storage vessels.

The well has been opened and flowed for clean-up and sampling. Each of the two perforated oil intervals was flowed individually for more than three hours.

The upper interval had a final flow rate of 4288 barrels per day through a ¾-inch choke with a flowing well-head pressure of 1324psi. The oil gravity was 42° API.

The lower interval had a final flow rate of 5060 barrels per day through a ¾-inch choke with a flowing well-head pressure of 1975psi. The oil gravity was 40° API.

The oil flow rate on each interval was constrained to be within equipment limitations on the drilling unit. No water production was observed.

The Ocean Patriot is expected to depart this coming weekend, according to Anzon. The FPSO Crystal Ocean together with the flowline laying vessel CSO Venturer are expected at the well location in mid October.

“The Basker Spirit shuttle vessel will take up its position during the last week in October. Commissioning of the production system will occur in October,” Anzon said.

“It is anticipated, with a trouble-free operation, production will commence at rates of approximately 8,000 bopd by the end of October.”

The flowline laying vessel, the CSO Venture, will be responsible for installing the infrastructure connecting the production wells and gas injection well on the sea floor 155 metres below the Crystal Ocean, over a distance of 1.5 kilometres to the moored tanker. This will include flexible composite steel flowlines for the crude oil, and control umbilicals for a disconnectable turret mooring (DTM).

In heavier sea-state conditions, this will allow the Crystal Ocean to remotely and safely disconnect from the DTM and take shelter until weather conditions subside and allow reconnection.

Basker-2 - the first of at least four proposed sub-sea production wells to be drilled by the Basker Manta JV – is expected to have an initial production rate of up to 8,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

The participants in the VIC/RL6 Joint Venture are: Anzon Australia Limited 62.5% (operator) and Beach Petroleum Ltd 37.5%. Beach has the right to acquire a further 12.5% to take its interest in the project to 50%.