ConocoPhillips to test Kronos-1

Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent

MELBOURNE, May 11 -- A joint venture of ConocoPhillips and Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. Discovered pay sands with interpreted gas content and good reservoir parameters in the Kronos-1 wildcat in the Browse basin permit WA-398-P off Western Australia.

The latest discovery is about 15 km from the JV’s 2009 Poseidon gas discovery in adjacent permit WA-315-P to the north. Both finds are about 480 km north of Broome on trend with the Woodside Petroleum group’s Torosa gas-condensate field and north-northwest of the Inpex Corp. group’s Ichthys gas-condensate field.

ConocoPhillips, operator with 60% interest, plans to production test the Kronos discovery following completion of coring and a full suite of wireline logs, including pressure measurements in the well. The petrophysical interpretation suggested a potential gas discovery.

Kronos-1 is on a horst feature in the southwest of the greater Poseidon trend.

The well was drilled by Transocean Inc.’s Transocean Legend semisubmersible rig to 5,329 m TD. Workers are installing a liner for the production test, which is expected to take as long as 20 days.

Although untested due to mechanical problems when found last year, Poseidon is thought to contain 3-15 tcf of gas.