By an OGJ Online Correspondent
MELBOURNE, May 23 -- Empire Oil & Gas NL, Perth, will spud a wildcat in the Exmouth subbasin of the onshore Carnarvon basin of Western Australia this week, encouraged in part by magnetotelluric data.
The Brooke 1 wildcat is a sequel to the Rough Range 1B oil production program of last year. The prospect is a simple anticlinal structure 3 km south of Rough Range field.
The target reservoir is the Cretaceous Birdrong sand, which flowed up to 1,806 b/d during testing at Rough Range 1B in May 2000.
Empire said the Brooke prospect has the potential to hold up to 2.6 million bbl of oil in place.
It said the magnetotelluric (MT) technique apparently provides an accurate depth control to a number of prospects delineated by previous multifold seismic data.
Empire said a thick surface outcrop of limestone prevented the accurate definition of structural closure with seismic, leading to a high proportion of dry holes being drilled off structure. Empire said the MT technique allows accurate depth control, enabling structural highs to be targeted.
It said the technique has provided nine prospects on permit EP41 (Part 3) that it owns 100%. It has mapped another 35 prospects along the anticlinal trend north and south of Rough Range.
Apart from the Brooke 1 and another wildcat (probably on the Tess prospect), Empire's 2001 exploration program will include MT surveys in all the new and farm-in areas, beginning in July.
