Australia

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 25 – A joint venture of WestSide Corp. Ltd., Brisbane, and Mitsui E&P Australia Pty. Ltd. is drilling the second lateral at Pretty Plains-5, first in a series of dual lateral coalbed methane production wells at the Meridian fields, formerly Dawson, in Queensland’s Bowen basin.

A workover program has already restored field output to January 2010 levels. Production has risen to 11.4 terajoules/day. The joint venture took control of the fields from Anglo American on July 1, 2010.

Planning is also under way for the second stage of the drilling campaign that initially targets a further six vertical production wells for completion south of Pretty Plains field by the end of fiscal 2011.

Each production well is drilled vertically to 1,300 m, and two diverging laterals target the Baralaba coal measures at separate depths. The joint venture will consider a trilateral well to target another seam on the structure.