Murphy Oil Corp. has expanded its position in the Browse basin offshore Western Australia by picking up 20% working interest in Block WA-408-P where drilling is expected to start in December.
The gas-prospective block directly offsets Block AC/P 36, in which Murphy hold a 50% working interest.
Murphy provided no additional details or terms regarding its stake in on Block Wa-408-P.
Separately, a group led by Santos Ltd. has drilled a large gas-condensate discovery in the Browse basin 60 km west of giant Ichthys field offshore Western Australia (OGJ Online, Nov. 19, 2012).
The Crown-1 exploratory well, in 440 m of water on WA-274-P, logged 61 m of net gas pay in the Jurassic Montara, Plover, and Malita reservoirs and recovered multiple condensate-bearing gas samples.
The WA-408-P joint venture has committed to drill the Dufresne-1 and Bassett West-1 exploratory wells as soon as Crown-1 has been completed.