Carnarvon comes up with W. Australia resource estimates

Carnarvon Petroleum Limited has provided contingent and prospective resource estimates for the Roc, Phoenix and Phoenix South area in the WA-435-P and WA-437-P permits offshore Australia.

Carnarvon Petroleum is a partner in the two permits and holds a 20 percent stake while the operator, Quadrant Energy, holds the remaining 80 percent.

According to the company’s estimate report on Monday, the area holds gross 2C contingent resources of 332 billion standard cubic feet (Bscf) of gas, 20 million barrels of condensate and 31 million barrels of light oil, equivalent to 109 mmboe.

Prospective resources in Caley and Barret reservoirs alone hold 1.5 Tcf of gas, 86 million barrels of condensate and 121 million barrels of light oil in gross mean.

Carnarvon added that, at this time, the additional prospective resources in the Phoenix South and Dorado prospects in the Milne and Hove reservoirs have a lower geological chance of success compared with the Caley and Barret reservoir estimates.

Carnarvon’s Managing Director and CEO, Adrian Cook, said: “Our resource estimates are based on the successful drilling results to date and a foundation of quality data and extensive technical work completed over the course of the last two years.

“The currently drilling Phoenix South-2 well is the next logical step in clarifying the volume of resources underpinning a development. The scale of the potential in this project, coupled with the drilling success to date, make this one of the most exciting oil and gas projects in Australia.”

Since the Phoenix South resources were announced in 2015, a significant amount of data has been acquired within the WA-435-P and WA-437-P permits. It included updated seismic data, additional well data from Roc-1 and Roc-2, and special core analysis data from the Phoenix South-1 well, resulting in an update of the recoverable resources within the area.

The company’s said that its estimates in the report had focused primarily on the Caley and Barret reservoirs where hydrocarbons were proven by recovering them to surface through drill string testing or wireline formation testing.

Also, the estimates only apply to resources within range of being tied back to a central hub development.

With discovered 2C resources around minimum economic levels, the Phoenix South-2 well began drilling in October to appraise oil in the Barret Sandstone and explore the Caley Sandstone that is estimated to contain 470 Bscf of gas and 25 mmbbls of condensate on a gross mean case basis.

The Phoenix South-2 will also explore the potential in the Hove formation.

The Phoenix South-1,  the first well in the basin, was a success with the extraction of light oil in late 2014. The Roc-1 and Roc-2 wells in 2016 extended that success with the discovery and extraction of high quality gas and condensate.

The Phoenix South-2 well, currently being drilled, is targeting the combination of oil, gas, and condensate and will be looking to improve on the current volume of discovered hydrocarbons.