TWO STRIKES GAUGED IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

An exploration play in Papua New Guinea's southern highlands has taken on added luster with the testing of two more discoveries.

Larger of the two is the Chevron Niugini Pty. Ltd. group's first sizable oil strike on the large Mananda anticline. Four drillstem tests of the Cretaceous Toro in Chevron's 1X Southeast Mananda yielded a maximum combined flow of more than 7,000 b/d of oil and 7 MMcfd of gas.

Site is on PPL 100, about 7 1/2 miles northwest of the 4X Agogo oil well in the Chevron group's Lake Kutubu area, which is undergoing development (see map, OGJ, Dec. 17, 1990, p. 28).

Offsetting the southeast part of PPL 100, a combine led by Command Petroleum Holdings NL, Sydney, Australia, tested more than 3,600 b/d of 45 oil on the Southeast Gobe structure in the northwest tip of PPL 56, about 30 miles southeast of the Lake Kutubu development area.

The immediate trend now runs about 65 miles southeast-northwest from the Command discovery in the southeast to Southeast Mananda.

SOUTHEAST MANANDA

The first test in 1X Southeast Mananda, at 6,920-40 ft, flowed 1,084 b/d of 33 gravity oil and 2.65 MMcfd of gas.

A second test at 6,862-80 ft flowed a maximum 2,434 b/d of oil and 1.46 MMcfd of gas. The flow dropped to 1,810 b/d and 1.28 MMcfd during a 15 hr period, although later buildup analysis showed no signs of pressure depletion.

The third test at 6,814-40 ft flowed 3,500 b/d of oil and 3.1 MMcfd of gas.

The fourth test at 6,642-72 ft flowed a maximum 3.34 MMcfd of gas, declining to 2.44 MMcfd in 5 hr.

All gauges were through 1 in. chokes.

County Natwest Woodmac's Far East Report said the tests showed the Toro section in 1 X Southeast Mananda has less porosity and permeability with a heavier crude than in other areas of the region. It suggested 1X Southeast Mananda penetrated a separate fault block.

Chevron and BP Exploration each own 19.375% interests in the well, the Papua New Guinea government 22.5%. Partners with smaller interests are Ampolex Petroleum, BHP Petroleum (PNG) Inc., Oil Search Ltd., and Mitsubishi Oil (PNG).

Four previous wells on the Mananda block either had good oil shows, were dry, or failed to reach their main objective.

The Chevron group is spending $1 billion to develop 185 million bbl of oil reserves in its Lake Kutubu project covering the lagifu-Hedinia, Agogo, and Usano structures. The project includes a 93 mile oil export pipeline to the Gulf of Papua coast. Production is to start late in 1992 and build to 100,000 b/d.

SOUTHEAST GOBE

Command ran two drillstem tests of a formation identified only as lagifu in its 1 Southeast Gobe strike, drilled to 7,700 ft.

Best oil flow occurred during the second test of a 108 ft interval below 7,245 ft. It had an initial flow rate of 3,600 b/d through a 1 in. choke with 440 psi flowing wellhead pressure.

The test was still under way at last report.

The first test, covering a 33 ft interval below 7,370 ft, flowed at an unstabilized rate of 296 b/d through various size chokes. Command said the well is on the southeast culmination of the Gobe anticline on the southern edge of the Papuan Fold Belt and is the first discovery outside Chevron's PPL 100 permit since the late 1950s.

John Doran, Command managing director, said the well yielded the largest oil flow recorded from the lagifu sandstone and the first oil discovery in Papua New Guinea in which partners do not include a large multinational oil company.

The 1 Southeast Gobe is only 9.3 miles northeast of Chevron's proposed pipeline route.

Command holds a 20% interest in the 1.5 million acre PPL 56.

Among its partners are MIM Holdings Ltd. subsidiary Barracuda Pty. Ltd. 15%, Base Resources Ltd. 7%, Nomeco PNG Oil Co. 5%, and Mountains West Exploration Inc. 2.5%. The remaining 50.5% is held by Southern Highlands Petroleum Co. Ltd. in which shareholders are Nippon Mining Co. Ltd., Japan National Oil Corp., Teikoku Oil Co., and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co.

The 1 Southeast Gobe was funded by Southern Highlands and Barracuda as part of a farmout obligation.

Command plans to drill a wildcat on its Anesi prospect, also on PPL 56, on trend with Kutubu Lake development and Southeast Gobe.