EXPLORATION

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Successful awardees of two Otway basin exploration licenses near the coastal town of Robe expect to drill a total of six wells in the areas during the next few years.

Oil Co. of Australia was awarded the largest license-1,070 sq km-while Harken Energy and private companies Hardman Oil & Gas and Sealot have been awarded a 213 sq km permit. The permits are in the far southeastern part of the state.

The South Australian Otway basin contains Katnook gas field and several noncommercial oil shows just north of the new licenses.

At the same time Beach Petroleum has been awarded two new exploration permits in the Arrowie basin straddling the Moomba-Adelaide gas and Moomba-Port Bonython liquids pipelines.

Although "unfashionable" the area is known for oil shows and has been only lightly explored.

South Australia recently offered exploration licenses on 32,400 sq km in the eastern Officer basin (OGJ, May 16, p. 20).

NEW ZEALAND

Amoco New Zealand has confirmed plans for the drilling of a new well in the offshore sector of the New Zealand East Coast basin of the North Island during second half 1994.

The well is the first to be drilled in the basin in almost 20 years, and it will be only the second offshore well ever in this area. A precise drilling location has yet to be announced, but the proposal follows Amoco's interpretation of recently acquired seismic survey data in the basin.

Amoco is operator of licenses 38-318 and 38323 in the region, and the company has finalized joint venture agreements with Mobil Exploration & Producing New Zealand and Taranaki Offshore Petroleum, affiliated with Pecten/Shell. Separate agreements have been concluded with Todd Petroleum to join the partnership.

The final make-up of the group is Amoco 35.6%, Mobil 35.6%, Taranaki 13.35%, and Todd 4.45%. The New Zealand Minister of Energy retains a beneficial 11% interest in the licenses.

Most of New Zealand's recent exploration and all of its production are located in the onshore-offshore sectors of the Taranaki basin on the west side of the country's North Island. The offshore East Coast basin was first drilled by the Shell-BP-Todd group at the 1 Hawke Bay well in 1976. That well encountered strong gas shows but was not tested because of mechanical difficulties.

SOUTH LOUISIANA

Goldking Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, recompleted the 1 State Lease 9295 well in East Stuard's Bluff field in 10 ft of water in St. Bernard Parish.

It flowed 550 Mcfd of gas with 3,440 psi flowing tubing pressure, no liquids, from perforations at 8,831-34 ft in the Miocene F-1 RA SUA sand. Shut-in tubing pressure was 3,470 psi. Since the original completion in 1982, the well produced 5 bcf of gas with 7,000 bbl of oil from 7,900 ft RB SUA sand. Total depth is 9,100 ft.