THE CSIRO’s Petroleum Resources Basin Studies group has developed a basin sequence model for Tertiary rocks in Papua New Guinea which has lead to InterOil’s large discovery of natural gas.
InterOil has discovered a significant gas-condensate reservoir in their recently drilled well, Antelope One. A flow test early last week reported 382 million cubic feet of gas with 5000 barrels of condensate per day, a total of 68,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The organisation has been working with InterOil since 2001 to develop the model which is based on the highly specialised method of strontium isotope dating of limestones.
InterOil's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Phil Mulacek says the new well drilling results are world-class confirming PNG as a significant oil and gas province.
Mulacek claims the CSIRO’s model was a critical component in InterOil's successful exploration strategy. He says the Antelope find is the first onshore Tertiary ‘reef’ type limestone reservoir to be successfully drilled and tested.
The company says the eastern Papuan Basin remains under-explored and there is significant potential for finding more isolated reef structures like Antelope, and other carbonate reservoirs.
Add a comment