Lundin Malaysia BV said its Ara-1 exploratory well offshore Peninsular Malaysia is a discovery that confirms extension of the new intrarift oil play across a large structural complex in northeastern PM308A below a major regional seal.
The West Courageous jackup drilled Ara-1 to 4,030 m in 75 m of water in an effort to extend the Paleogene intrarift oil sands encountered in Lundin’s 2011 Janglau-1 well.
Ara-1 encountered nine thin oil-bearing sands in a high-pressured intrarift section extending over a vertical interval of 800 m. It also found effective sand reservoirs below 3,500 m. The oil pay zones intersected by Ara-1 were individually thinner than predrill expectation.
Ara-1 was plugged and abandoned as an oil discovery after completion of the well evaluation program, and the company is working to estimate the range of resources discovered.
The parent Lundin Petroleum will incorporate the well results into the recently extended regional 3D seismic data set to identify areas where local sand reservoir sources may be better developed and can highgrade future drilling prospects.
The rig will be demobilized as Ara-1 was the last well in Lundin’s 2012 drilling campaign.
Lundin Malaysia operates PM308A with 35% equity interest, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (Peninsular Malaysia) Ltd. has 40%, and Petronas Carigali has 25%.
