G'Day For Apache: Logs Pay Across Five Intervals Offshore Australia

Apache Corporation reported that the Julimar Southeast-1 discovery on Australia's Northwest Shelf logged 195 feet of net pay across five intervals of the Triassic Mungaroo Sandstone.

Apache has now drilled five gas discoveries on License WA-356-P, including Julimar-1, Julimar East-1, Brunello-1 and Brulimar-1.

The latest discovery, which was not tested, was drilled in 502 feet of water about 1.9 miles from Julimar-1, which logged 132 feet of net pay and test-flowed a combined 85 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day from two zones.

"Julimar Southeast-1 encountered both the stratigraphically oldest and structurally deepest gas pay in the field to date," said G. Steven Farris, Apache's president and chief executive officer. "Two additional wells are planned on the block in 2008, and we believe the ultimate size of this gas accumulation could be in the range of 2 to 4 trillion cubic feet."

Apache owns a 65-percent interest in the block; Kufpec owns the remaining interest.

Apache also announced that the Halyard-1 discovery test-flowed at a peak rate of 68 MMcf of gas and 936 barrels of condensate per day from 91 feet of net gas pay in the Cretaceous Halyard sandstone.

The Halyard-1 discovery was drilled in 366 feet of water in Permit WA-13-L, the same production license as the Apache-operated East Spar Field. Apache owns a 55-percent interest in the block, Santos owns the remaining interests. The discovery is on a trend with the Apache-operated John Brookes Field, which is producing 240 MMcf of gas per day from three wells. The test was conducted on 54 feet of perforations in two intervals beginning at a measured depth of 8,525 feet. The test was constrained by the capacity of surface equipment.

"Halyard-1 is our first test of a series of recently identified stratigraphic traps along the front edge of the Barrow Delta," Farris said. "The production test confirms the presence of high-quality reservoir sandstones and their capacity to deliver gas at commercial rates. Apache has identified several other undrilled geologic features with similar geophysical characteristics in the same area." Future production from Halyard could be brought to Western Australia's domestic gas market via an existing Apache-operated pipeline 10 miles south of the discovery and through the Varanus Island processing and transportation hub. This proximity to existing infrastructure is likely to reduce the time and expense required to develop the project.