Horizon Oil proposed spud of kapul-1 well, Papua New Guinea
Posted: 9 December 2004
Horizon Oil reports that as at 0600 hrs on 9 December 2004, the Parker Rig No. 140 was 99 per cent moved to the Kapul well site in PPL 240, Papua New Guinea and 65 per cent rigged up. The Kapul-1 exploration well is due to spud on 14 – 15 December 2004.
Kapul-1 is located in the Papuan Foreland and will test the Toro and Iagifu sandstone intervals in the seismically-defined Kapul structure. The well has a programmed total depth of 3,170 m, which is prognosed to be 50 m below the top of the Iagifu sandstone.
Operations on the well are expected to take about 30 days from spud to total depth.
The participants in Kapul-1 are:
Horizon Oil International Limited (HZN) 20 per cent
Oil Search Limited 70 per cent (Operator)
Gedd (PNG) Limited 10 per cent
Prospect Summary
The Kapul prospect is located in the foreland of the Papuan basin, about 50 km southeast of the Kimu gas discovery (see location map below). The terrain is primarily swampland, in distinct contrast from the rugged foldbelt to the north, in which the Kutubu and Gobe oilfields are located. The pipeline from Kutubu to the coast runs within 75 km of the Kapul prospect.
The Kapul structure is a simple fault-dependent, four-way-dip closed anticline. It is mapped on a limited seismic dataset with a loose grid spacing of 5 km. The well location is shown on the seismic dip line over the structure (below).
The source rock “kitchen” is interpreted to be the thick sequence of organic rich rocks in the Omati Trough to the east and south of the prospect. These are thought to be at peak maturity for oil generation. Oil shows in several wells drilled in the vicinity indicate that Kapul is well-placed relative to the source rocks and migration pathway to be charged with hydrocarbons.
Good quality Iagifu sandstone reservoir and moderate quality Toro sandstone were penetrated at the Kamusi-1 well, 10 km south of Kapul. The quality is expected to be maintained or improved at Kapul.
The regional Ieru formation seal rock drilled at Kamusi in anticipated to be thicker at Kapul. Interpretation of the faulting of the structure provides confidence of fault seal. Mean unrisked recoverable reserves of 113 million barrels of oil are calculated for the Iagifu and Toro objectives combined. The objective zones are independent of each other and either has sufficient mean reserves potential to be economic.
Horizon Oil’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Brent Emmett said,“The Kapul-1 wildcat fits into the high impact component of our Game Plan. Like all exploration prospects it has risk, but when we analyse each of the key elements required for a successful prospect – oil source, structure, reservoir and seal – we conclude that the risk is well worth the potential high reward. This should be a definitive test of the Papuan Foreland basin, a geological setting that has reservoired large hydrocarbon accumulations elsewhere in the world. Importantly, we see significant follow-up prospects, should Kapul-1 show encouragement.”
For more information see http://www.horizonoil.com.au
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor EnergyME.com
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