Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, July 22 -- Rift Oil PLC has discovered 48.5 m of net natural gas pay in its Puk Puk-1 wildcat in the forelands onshore Papua New Guinea.
The company reports that this result is 50% more than predicted and twice the thickness of the interval found in the Douglas-I wildcat drilled last year in the same permit, PPL235.
Puk Puk-1 was targeting an estimated predrill recoverable reserve of 226 bcf of gas.
The gas was found in the Toro, Upper Hedinia, and Lower Hedinia sands. Downhole sampling also recovered significant condensate, raising the possibility of an oil reservoir at depth in this structure, or at least potentially to be found in surrounding features.
Rift now plans to remap the Puk Puk structure and flow-test the well.
If the test is successful, the new find bodes well for the company's two gas development options for this area. Rift has signed an agreement with Flex LNG to use a floating LNG facility in the Papuan Gulf as one alternative.
It has also signed a nonbinding memorandum of intent with Alcan Australia to potentially supply Alcan's alumina plant at Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia with 40 bcf/year of gas for 20 years.
