By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 22 -- A group led by ExxonMobil Corp.’s Philippines affiliate plans to drill a second Sandakan basin deepwater exploration well in Philippine waters off Borneo Island after its first well appears to be a hydrocarbon discovery of unspecified proportion.
Having drilled the first well, Dabakan-1, to more than 16,000 ft in late 2009, the group is not certain of the hydrocarbon type but plans to proceed with the second well, said Scott Spradlin, ExxonMobil operations manager.
Dabakan-1, in 5,974 ft of water, was drilled by the Seadrill West Aquarius semisubmersible 40 miles off Mapun Island, part of the Philippine South Sulu Sea Province of Tawi Tawi (OGJ Online, Jan. 7, 2009). The well is in Service Contract 56, which covers 2.1 million acres.
The frontier SC 56 block lies 175 miles east of oil fields off Sabah, Malaysia, 225 miles north of onshore oil fields in Indonesia’s Tarakan basin, and more than 300 miles south of oil and gas fields off Northwest Palawan Island, Philippines.
Interests in SC 56 are ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Philippines BV 50%, and Mitra Energy (Philippines SC-56) Ltd. and BHP Billiton International Exploration Pty. Ltd., 25% each.
