Apache Energy has made a natural gas discovery with its Bianchi-1 wildcat, which was drilled in retention lease WA-49-R offshore Western Australia.
The find is within a separate fault block down-dip and 6 km northeast of the company’s April 2011 Zola-1 gas discovery and about 11 km north of the earlier Antelope find.
Wireline logging and pressure testing confirmed 112 m net gas pay in Bianchi-1 in the Triassic-age Mungaroo formation.
The well lies in 240 m of water.
Bianchi adds to the prospectivity of other leads in the lease as well as the adjoining Santos Ltd.-operated exploration permit WA-290-P.
Apache has 30.25% of both permits, Santos has 24.75%, OMV Australia has 20%, JX Nippon 15%, and Tap Oil of Australia 10%.
