By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 24 -- Apache Corp.'s Julimar-1 wildcat on the WA356P permit of Australia's North West Shelf flowed a combined 85 MMcfd of gas and 835 b/d of condensate on choke from two zones of four tested.
Sedco's 703 rig drilled the well in 615 ft of water to 12,221 ft TD, cutting 132 ft of net pay in the Triassic Mungaroo formation on trend with other major fields. Julimar-1 is 5&12frac; miles north of West Tryal Rocks field, 12 miles southwest of Pluto field, and 14 miles northeast of Gorgon field.
Apache tested two of the four gas-bearing fluvial channel sands encountered by Julimar-1: The J-10 sand, perforated between 11,877 and 11,893 ft, achieved a stable flow rate of 41 MMcfd of gas and 400 b/d of condensate, and the J-1 sand, perforated between 10,440 and 10,466 ft, flowed at a stable rate of 44 MMcfd of gas and 435 b/d of condensate.
Reserves in the channel complex "could exceed 1 tcf," said Apache Pres. and Chief Executive Officer G. Steven Farris. "Appraisal drilling will be required to confirm the size of the discovery, and we are planning a well for later in the year that will not only appraise the Julimar-1 but also test some of the deeper prospective channels."
Other prospects identified on the WA356P permit with similar geological methods include the Brunello prospect, 6 miles north of Julimar-1, Farris said.
Apache owns a 65% interest in the 239,440-acre WA356P permit.
Wells planned
Apache also plans this year to drill another gas prospect, Rosella, southwest of its largest Australian gas field, John Brookes. The field is producing 250 MMcfd of gas from three wells, and ultimate reserves are projected at more than 1 tcf.
After testing Julimar-1X, the rig will move to the Exmouth subbasin, southwest of the Apache-operated Varanus Island complex. There Apache and partner BHP-Billiton plan to drill six exploration prospects this year.
The Apache-operated Van Gogh and BHP Billiton-operated Pyrenees developments in the Exmouth basin are scheduled to come on line in late 2008 and early 2009, to produce a net 40,000 b/d of oil when fully developed.
