Conrad confirms Mako as one of largest gas fields ever discovered in West Natuna Basin

An independent resources audit of the Conrad Petroleum-operated Mako gas field, located in the Duyung PSC offshore Indonesia, has confirmed a significant upgrade, showing that the Mako field is one of the largest gas fields ever discovered in the West Natuna Basin and the largest undeveloped resource in the immediate area.

Conrad Petroleum revealed the results of its internal subsurface study and a subsequent independent resource audit of the Mako gas field located within the license in an update on Tuesday.

Following a successful drilling campaign completed in late 2019, Conrad carried out an internal, comprehensive field review that was concluded in April 2020.

The review covered all subsurface and surface aspects of the development of the field and indicated significantly higher overall resource volumes than previous estimates, along with the potential for considerably higher daily production rates of high-quality dry gas.

Subsequently, the company engaged Gaffney Cline and Associates (GCA) to complete an independent resource audit for the Mako gas field.

GCA’s audit confirmed Conrad’s internal resource estimates and provided a significant upgrade for the Mako gas field compared to the previous audit of January 2019.

The 2C (contingent) recoverable resource estimates have been increased to 495Bcf, an increase of approximately 79 per cent compared with the 2019 audit.

In the upside case, the 3C (contingent) resources have increased by approximately 108 per cent compared with the 2019 audit.

With the latest upgrade, Mako has been shown to be one of the largest gas fields ever discovered in West Natuna Basin, and is currently by far the largest undeveloped resource in the immediate area, Conrad Petroleum said.

The revised estimates of gross (full field) recoverable dry gas audited in the May 2020 GCA audit are:

The full field resources are classified in the 2020 GCA Audit as contingent. Gas volumes are expected to be upgraded to reserves when certain commercial milestones are achieved, including the execution of a gas sales agreement (GSA) and a final investment decision (FID).

Miltos Xynogalas, Conrad CEO, commented: “The GCA audit results are extremely gratifying not only because they confirm the large resources of the Mako Field, but also because they endorse the high-quality technical work performed by Conrad.

“Over the last three years, the company drilled three successful wells and undertook numerous rigorous technical studies. Our efforts, supported by our joint venture partners, have proven the high-value resources of the Mako accumulation and have brought the field closer to development. It is a tremendous achievement for a relatively young company such as Conrad to be able to identify and mature almost 0.5 Tcf of gas resources at Mako, resources that lie close to existing infrastructure and well-established gas markets.

“The company is now positioned to take the project to FID, the next and very critical milestone in our road map to production“.

David Johnson, Executive Chairman, said: “Mako has the potential to deliver gas to address both the aspirations of the Indonesian government and pipeline gas needs of the Singaporean market”.

It is also worth reminding that Coro Energy has recently received all necessary regulatory approvals for the transfer of a 15 per cent interest in the Duyung PSC and has completed the acquisition of the interest in the license.

The license holders of the Duyung PSC are now Conrad Petroleum (76.5 per cent operated interest), Coro (15 per cent non-operated interest) and Empyrean Energy plc (8.5 per cent non-operated interest).