A group led by a unit of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. will plug and abandon a potentially commercial oil discovery in the frontier Buton basin off southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The group drilled the Benteng-1 exploratory well to 12,424 ft and encountered good oil shows in a 111-ft interval from a depth of 2,375 ft. Initial log analysis indicates a 15-ft oil-bearing Tertiary limestone reservoir.
Benteng-1 is the first well to discover hydrocarbons in the frontier Buton basin, where it has established the existence of a working petroleum system. It was drilled to test two play types, a shallow anticline and a deeper fault dependent trap. The hydrocarbons were discovered in the shallow play type.
The well results will be integrated into the existing data base to determine the commercial viability of the discovery and the follow on potential in the shallow play type across the Buton block.
Interests in the Buton block are Japex Buton Ltd. operator with 40% and Premier Oil PLC and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. 30% each.
