Transerv Gets Ready to Drill 2 Appraisal Wells at Warro Gas Field in WA

Transerv Energy Ltd. reported Monday that it is preparing to start two pivotal appraisal wells at Warro, Australia’s largest undeveloped onshore gas field, just 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of Perth, Western Australia (WA).

The wells, which are being fully funded by Alcoa of Australia under its farm-in agreement with Transerv for the Warro Project, are aimed at unlocking the potentially immense value of a field that contains in-place resources of 8-10 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCF).

The Warro-5 and Warro-6 wells will be drilled 2.1 miles (3.5 kilometers) to the south and 0.9 mile (1.5 kilometers) south-west respectively of the previous wells on the giant Warro Field. Both wells will be drilled to a total depth of approximately 13,943 feet (4,250 meters) Rotary Table (RT)  with the rig on location for approximately 40 days for each well.

The two impending wells are aimed at establishing the ability of wells to flow gas at commercial rates and avoid the issues associated with water in Warro-3 and 4 wells. Warro-5 and 6 are the first wells to be located with the benefit of the Warro 3D seismic, which has provided a clear picture of the gas zones, deep-seated faulting and the field outline.

A review conducted in 2012 by U.S. tight gas expert Dr. Keith Shanley found that there was likely to be a manageable solution to the water production associated with the previous wells. It found new wells needed to be drilled in areas without deep-seated, old faults to minimise the water flow and noted that the 3D seismic had defined large areas without indiscernible faulting. In light of these findings, the locations of the Warro-5 and Warro-6 wells have been selected to avoid areas of deep-seated faulting as identified by the 3Dseismic survey.

The Warro Joint Venture has already secured all environmental and other approvals for Warro-5 and 6 and has the necessary Native Title Agreement in place.

As well as having a substantial onshore gas resource, Warro has the key advantage of being located just 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) from the two key pipelines which carry gas into WA’s lucrative south-west gas market – the Dampier-to-Bunbury and Parmelia pipelines.