Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, July 14 -- Anzon Australia Ltd., Sydney, operator of the proposed Basker-Manta-Gummy oil and gas field development in the Gippsland basin off Victoria, will spud the Basker-2 appraisal well at the end of this month.
Regulatory approval for the well was a first step toward approval of development of the fields.
The Basker-2 well will test zones not yet evaluated in Basker field and be completed for an extended production test (EPT). The EPT will help determine the connectivity and water drive mechanisms of several zones in Tertiary Intra-Latrobe sands.
Oil reserves in Basker, Manta, and Gummy fields are estimated at 23 million bbl. Good results in Basker-2 could increase that figure by as much as 25%, Anzon said.
Basker-2, in retention lease Vic/RL-6, will be drilled by the Ocean Patriot semisubmersible, which is currently finishing a program at Casino field in Victoria's Otway basin to the west.
Preparations for the EPT will include installation of flowlines and arrival of the floating production, storage, and offloading vessel Crystal Ocean in August and the shuttle tanker Basker Spirit in September. The latter vessel is capable of holding 650,000 bbl of stabilized crude.
Anzon has 3-year contracts for both vessels with options to extend.
Following a successful EPT, Anzon intends to proceed to full oil development with wells on Basker and Manta to commence during the fourth quarter. The aim is to be producing 20,000 b/d by the second quarter of 2006.
Basker, Manta, and Gummy fields were discovered by Royal Dutch/Shell Group in 1983, 1984, and 1990, respectively, but considered noncommercial at that time.
Basker, in 200 m of water 70 km from the Victorian coast, is the main oil field. Manta, in adjoining retention lease Vic/RL9, lies in 110 m of water a similar distance from shore and contains both oil and significant gas reserves. The smaller Gummy field, in Vic/RL10 is in 150 m of water about 75 km from shore, contains mostly gas.
Shell and its partners sold the fields to Woodside Energy Ltd. of Perth in the mid-1990s. Woodside sold them to Anzon in March 2004. Anzon holds a 75% interest. Beach Petroleum Ltd., Adelaide, holds 25%.
Anzon plans to begin with oil production and reinject Manta gas. The group later will consider gas development, including development of Gummy field.
