Offshore staff
LONDON– The MB Century 28 rig has spudded the Tutung Alpha-3 (TA-3) appraisal well for Salamander Energy in the Bontang PSC, offshore Indonesia.
The concession spans 2,185 sq km (843 sq mi) of transition zone in the Kutei basin, East Kalimantan. It contains Total’sTutung gas-condensate discovery from the early 1980s – previous wells tested flow rates of between 10-15 MMcf/d.
Salamander drilled two appraisal wells on the structure in 2008, one of which demonstrated the field’s potential commerciality. The Bontang LNG plant is contained within the block.
Although the industry’s recent focus has been on the basin’s deepwater potential, Salamander says the shallow water coastal strip remains largely overlooked, even though the various oil and gas discoveries to date provided good analogues for exploration prospects in the area.
TA-3 will be drilled to a TVD of 3,200 m (10,498 ft) subsea and will target Middle Miocene deltaic sandstones, which were found to be gas- and condensate-bearing in the Tutung-1 and Tutung Alpha-1 wells.
It should take around 30 days for TA-3 to reach target depth.
3/26/2012
