Offshore staff
LONDON – The jackup Atwood Mako has started a multi-well exploration program for Salamander Energy in block G4/50 in the Gulf of Thailand.
Atwood Mako is drilling the Rayong prospect in the northeast area of the block in the Central Kra sub-basin.
The G4/50-4 well targets oil in Miocene sandstones and Permian Ratburi carbonates with potential recoverable oil resources of 20-50 MMbbl. Salamander sees access to hydrocarbon charge as the main risk.
The well will be drilled to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) TVD and is expected to take around 21 days. On completion, the rig will next drill the Surin prospect in the central western sub-basin.
Five more wells are expected to be drilled this year, with more to follow in 2014.
Block G4/50 surrounds the B8/38 production license containing the producingBualuang oil field. It covers more than 5,800 sq km (2,239 sq mi) and includes five sub-basins, four of which have proven oil.
Salamander has mapped more than 60 prospects on 3D seismic with mean recoverable resources in the 20-150 MMbbl range.
6/27/2013