Karoon Confirms Discovery in GOM's Who Dat South

Karoon Energy Ltd has confirmed a hydrocarbon discovery in the Who Dat South exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Karoon said in a news release that the exploration well intersected several hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone intervals through the targeted Miocene zones, over a gross interval between 5,000 meters measured depth (MD) and a final total depth (TD) of 7,014 meters MD.

Initial analysis of formation pressure measurements and fluid samples indicate the presence of a high liquid yield gas-condensate fluid, Karoon noted. Formation water samples were also recovered to facilitate future geotechnical and development engineering studies. A production liner was installed over the interval to enable utilization for potential future production, the company stated.

The Who Dat South well was drilled by the West Neptune drillship from Mississippi Canyon Block 589 as a deviated hole (with a wellbore angle of up to 47 degrees) into Mississippi Canyon Block MC 545 and is located at approximately 780 meters water depth, around 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) west of the Who Dat Floating Production System.

Karoon Managing Director and CEO Julian Fowles said, “The preliminary results at Who Dat South are encouraging and, if confirmed by further analysis of the data, significantly exceed Karoon’s [approximately] 40-meter TVT pre-drill prognosis for the well. Confirmation of a high liquid yield gas/condensate resource of this quality just 11 kilometers from the Who Dat production facility is an encouraging result. We congratulate LLOG on a successful operation and look forward to working with our partners to undertake a full interpretation of the volumetrics and commercial potential of the zones encountered”.

“Together with the success at Who Dat East earlier in the year, the preliminary successful results at Who Dat South strongly support Karoon’s strategy to diversify its asset base by entering the Miocene play in the Gulf of Mexico,” Fowles added.

Karoon and asset operator LLOG Exploration Company LLC started drilling in Who Dat South in September.

Meanwhile, Karoon has revised its contingent resource estimates for the Who Dat East gas-condensate discovery as of the end of September.

The update follows the integration of results from the MC 509-1 (LLOG) appraisal/exploration well drilled at Who Dat East earlier this year, Karoon said in a separate statement.

The updated contingent resource estimate includes data from wireline logs, fluid samples and subsurface studies, which indicate a relatively high liquid yield gas condensate of 134 barrels per million standard cubic feet. Liquids now represent approximately 45 percent of the resource at the 2C level, compared to 35 percent pre-drill.

According to the revised estimates, 1C contingent resources have increased to 9.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) from 2.1 MMboe; 2C contingent resources have increased to 15.7 MMboe from 5.4 MMboe; and 3C contingent resources have risen to 30.2 MMboe from 14.4 MMboe.

“These analyses have enhanced the definition of the resource potential and the likelihood of a potential future development,” Karoon noted.

The company stated that over the next 12 months, development concept studies will be advanced as the dataset is supplemented with findings from ongoing geotechnical and engineering studies. “Further updates to the resource assessment are anticipated as study results become available and key elements of potential development options are delineated,” it added.

"The results from the Who Dat East well and the resultant increase in the Contingent Resource estimate to 15.7 MMboe at the 2C level, NRI to Karoon, are a significant advance. This result positively impacts the feasibility and materiality of a potential Who Dat East development opportunity, which we now estimate to have a gross 2C resource base close to 50 MMboe, with further prospective upside," Fowles said.

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