Peter Tang
Singapore
Philodrill trying for third success off NW Palawan
Philodrill spudded Octon-3 in SC6/A, offshore Northwest Palawan Island on 22 May, using the semisubmersible Jim Cunningham. The well is designed as the second appraisal of Philodrill's 1991 Octon-1 gas/condensate discovery. The following year, there was much excitement when Octon-2 encountered an oil leg in the structure.
During the third quarter of this year, two other important and much awaited wells will be drilled, both using the semisubmersible Pioneer Drilling. First Cophil will drill the Manila Bay prospect in GSEC 72, and then this will be followed by Trans-Asia's test of the Sombrero structure in GSEC 64.
Maersk has exited Tantawan but discovered Benchamas
Denmark's Maersk Oil has made an important discovery in B8/32 in the Gulf of Thailand. Wildcat Benchamas-1 was spudded on 6 April by the semisubmersible Sedco 601 and during testing in May, flowed at the encouraging rate of 44.7 MMcf/d gas and 4,835 b/d oil and gas from five DSTs.
The discovery is located in the northern part of the concession in an area where Maersk has previously shot exploratory 3D data. Further wells in the Benchamas structure are planned in the final quarter of this year.
In 1991, Maersk made the Tantawan-1 oil, gas, and condensate discovery in the same block. However, following seven appraisal wells, it withdrew from the part of the concession containing the field on 3 March, this year. Pogo Producing of Houston, one of Maersk's partners, then assumed the operatorship and hopes to begin production from the field next year.
Meanwhile, in the southern Gulf of Thailand, the Carigali-Triton Operating Company (CTOC) spudded Cakerawala-1 in
Block A-18 in the Malaysia-Thailand JDA on 9 May using the semisubmersible Falcon. However, due to a shallow gas blowout, the well was re-spudded a few days later.
Cakerawala-1 is located some three km south of Esso's 1971 Pilong-1 gas/condensate discovery.
Texaco strikes out again in Myanmar's Martaban
Texaco has plugged and abandoned Myeik-1 in Block M-12 in the eastern Martaban Basin offshore Myanmar. the well was spudded on 31 January and reached a total depth of 3,886 meters in April. Two DSTs conducted between 3,147 and 3,311 meters flowed insignificant hydrocarbons. A small amount of gas recovered was of high carbon dioxide content. Texaco then moved the Deepsea Ice drillship to the Kinon-1 location in Block M-14, which is its final well in a three-well program. Texaco's first well was the unsuccessful Dawai-1 also in Block M-14.
Carigali chalks up another major Sarawak discovery
In Block SK-15 in the Baram Delta Basin, offshore Sarawak, Malaysia's Carigali has made a significant oil and gas discovery at Tanjung Baram-1. The wildcat reached a total depth of 3,642 meters during May and tested at the aggregate rate of 4,250 b/d oil and 9.7 MMcf/d gas from three DSTs.
The find is located close to the producing Bakau and West Lutang oil fields.
Thai 14th now being limited to Andaman Sea
It now seems likely that the 14th Thai Licensing Round will initially include only blocks located in the Andaman Sea.
Blocks in the Gulf of Thailand will be offered at a later date. Due to administrative delays, the round will open in the final quarter of this year. Data packs are on sale now.
The Andaman Sea area is principally a deepwater province with a shelf area to the east. It contains the Mergui Basin and the northern part of the North Sumatra Basin.
Almost all of the area is relatively unex-plored, with only 13 wells having been drilled within Thai waters, including two gas discoveries. Little serious exploration has taken place in the area since the 1970s, and the last license was relinquished in 1987.
Ticket to see Vietnam seismic costs a whopping $400,000!
PetroVietnam has announced the price for data inspection of Blocks 09 and 16 in the Mekong Basin. The fee is a staggering US$400,000 to view 3,300 km of 2D data and one well in Block 09, and a similar amount to view 3,770 km of 2D data and three wells in Block 16. Only 10% of the seismic in paper form can be taken and no wells. This works out to a purchase price of over $1,200 per km! Companies are required to submit technical reports to PetroVietnam following evaluation, and then selected companies will be invited to bid.
In the eastern part of the Mekong Basin, key wells were spudded in May by Petronas in Block 01 (01-B-2X and 01-P-1X) and the Japan-Vietnam Petroleum Company in Block 15-2 (15-2-PD-1X). The results of these wells will have important implications on the prospectivity of Block 15-1, which is the subject of a very competitive bid round.
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