Western Gas Ltd., Perth, operator of Carnarvon basin permit WA-519-P offshore Western Australia, secured the Valaris MS-1 semisubmersible drilling rig for work on its Sasanof prospect in first-quarter 2022.
Sasanof could hold up to 24 tcf of gas and 1.1 billion bbl of condensate. It lies up-dip and on-trend with Mentorc gas-condensate field in neighboring retention lease WA-70-R, one of the company’s Equus group of fields.
Sasanof as a large seismic amplitude-supported, structural-stratigraphic trap in high-quality reservoir sands at the top of the Cretaceous-age Lower Barrow Group formation on the Barrow Delta within the Exmouth Plateau, Western Gas said.
Sasanof-1 will be a vertical well drilled to 2,500 m total depth in 1,070 m of water. It will be the first exploration well drilled in the company’s acreage surrounding the Equus gas project. AGR Australia will manage the drilling program.
The operator is finalizing an deal with an unnamed company to farm into the prospect and help fund the well.
An environmental plan has been submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).
If successful, Sasanof could provide multiple gas supply opportunities including domestic gas, LNG backfill, and expansion, the company said.
It also will help to mature the company’s phased Equus gas project, which is designed to produce 350 terajoules/day of gas for 15 years. Equus Phase 1 will include three subsea wells tapping Nimblefoot and Mentorc fields and linked to an FPSO for separation of condensate and piping of dry gas to shore.
