AWE begins drilling of Waitsia-4 appraisal well

July 10, 2017
AWE Ltd., Sydney, has spudded the last well in its 2017 appraisal program in Waitsia gas field onshore the northern part of the Perth basin in Western Australia.

AWE Ltd., Sydney, has spudded the last well in its 2017 appraisal program in Waitsia gas field onshore the northern part of the Perth basin in Western Australia.

The company began drilling the Waitsia-4 well on July 9.

The plan is to drill a directional well to a planned maximum depth of 3,834 m, or 3,668 m vertical depth, to evaluate the eastern extension of Waitsia field’s reservoirs. The primary targets as in previous wells will be the Kingia and High Cliff sandstones.

Waitsia-4 is 18.5 km southeast of Dongara and 3.3 km north-northeast of recently completed Waitsia-3 appraisal well, which confirmed a southern extension to Waitsia gas field (OGJ Online, July 5, 2017).

The program is expected to take 5 weeks.

David Biggs, AWE chief executive officer and managing director, said Waitsia-4 will be the last appraisal before the joint venture makes a final investment decision on the Waitsia Stage 2 development.

The data collected in Waitsia-4 plus that from Waitsia-3 will provide a sound basis for upgrading the estimated 2P reserves for the field before the end of this calendar year, Biggs said.

Operator AWE and Origin Energy Ltd., also of Sydney, hold equal interest in the venture.