Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. said its Kangaroo-1 exploratory well in the Santos basin offshore Brazil is a light oil discovery at the Eocene level.
The well has been drilled to 3,049 m on a prospect on the S-M-1101 and S-M-1165 blocks, west of deepwater presalt discoveries in the basin, and Karoon Gas obtained mud logs, wireline petrophysical data, and MDT pressure data. Pressure data interpretation established a 25-m gross column and an oil-water contact.
The well intersected the Eocene reservoir 300 m downdip from the trap crest as interpreted on seismic mapping by Karoon. The company estimates a potential gross hydrocarbon column of 350 m for the entire trap.
As this was not the well’s primary target, the discovery of oil in Eocene provides further information with respect to other potential prospects on the Karoon blocks, said Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., Toronto, which has a 35% participating interest.
Karoon Gas said the finding provides additional confidence in other parts of the blocks including the Emu/Cassowary and Bilby exploration targets, Karoon Gas said.
Emu-1 and Bilby-1 will be the second and third wells in Karoon’s Santos basin exploratory drilling campaign. These wells are located in blocks S-M-1102, S-M-1137, and S-M-1166. These wells will evaluate multiple targets at Miocene, Eocene, Maestrichtian, Campanian, and Santonian levels.
Completion of the three wells will satisfy the minimum work commitments for Block S-M-1101, SM-1102, S-M-1037, S-M-1165, and S-M-1166.
The Kangaroo well also exhibited good oil shows at the base of the Miocene-aged carbonate layers, but these are still under detailed evaluation to determine their potential.
The Kangaroo well was drilled as part of an agreement announced by Pacific Rubiales in September 2012 as a minimum work commitment for the S-M-1101 and S-M-1165 blocks.
A wireline program is under way, and a drillstem test program will be assessed on completion of the wireline evaluation. The full evaluation program for the well is expected to continue through February.
