Empire Energy Ltd., Perth, has let a contract to Schlumberger for drilling of its Carpentaria-1 wildcat in Beetaloo basin permit EP187 in the Northern Territory.
The company expects to spud the well in mid-September with civil works to prepare the site starting in August.
Carpentaria-1 will be a vertical well drilled to a planned depth of 2,900 m with the aim of fully evaluating the target Velkerri and Kyalla shale reservoirs.
The program will focus on rock properties, hydrocarbon content, formation permeability, and reservoir pressure as they relate to the ability of the shales to produce.
The results will also be used to refine the seismic interpretation and further determine prospective hydrocarbon resource estimates (OGJ Online, Jan. 23, 2020).
Empire said the well design allows for future re-entry, fracture stimulation, and flow testing which is planned for 2021 following the coming wet season in northern Australia.
The drilling and testing of Carpentaria-1 is the precursor to Empire’s proposed multi-staged fracture stimulated and tested horizontal section which may be drilled from the same well bore.