Exploration in the southwest Malita Graben: initial results and remaining potential
Kelsey Jewett A , Anne-Claire Lorage A , Said Amiribesheli A and Han Kee Tan BA Total EP Australia.
B Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.
The APPEA Journal 53(2) 428-428 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ12039
Published: 2013
Abstract
In 2011, Total E&P Australia and Petronas Carigali drilled two exploration wells in permit WA-403-P in the northern Bonaparte Basin. Both wells targeted the Middle-Jurassic play of the Elang/Plover formations that have yielded all commercial discoveries in the area. Notably, the wells were drilled in a less-explored area near the axis of the basin, targeting reservoirs at or more than 4,000 m. Pre-drill, the critical risks were recognised as burial-related reservoir degradation and cross-fault leakage into Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous sands.
The first well, Durville-1, was drilled on a poorly imaged three-way dip closure to the south of the Flamingo High. A gas column with high CO2 content was encountered in thick, high net-to-gross sands of lowermost Berriasian age. Drilling was terminated before the Elang Formation was reached.
The second well, Laperouse-1, was drilled on a well-imaged fault block near the southern margin of the Malita Graben. The structure was formed in the Late Jurassic and lacks recent fault activation; thus, it was anticipated that early hydrocarbon charge might protect the reservoir from severe diagenesis. Laperouse-1 encountered a thick succession of Tithonian to Berriasian water-bearing sand packages; it reached total depth in the Elang Formation.
The WA-403-P drilling campaign has confirmed the presence of thick Cretaceous sandstone in the area, although significant discrepancies in reservoir quality are observed between Durville-1 and Laperouse-1.
Kelsey Jewett graduated from the University of Alberta, Canada, in 2004 with a BSc (Earth and Atmospheric sciences). He joined Talisman Energy soon after to work as a development geologist in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. In 2007, he transferred to Talisman’s international division, where he worked as a regional exploration geologist on the Llanos Basin in Colombia, South America. Since relocating to Australia in 2009, he has worked on clastic and carbonate plays across the Philippines with Otto Energy and, more recently, as a regional geologist with TOTAL E&P Australia’s Offshore New Ventures Team. Member: PESA and AAPG. |
In 2006, Anne-Claire Lorage graduated with an engineering diploma (geology) from the French National School of Geology in Nancy, France (ENSG) and an MSc (petroleum geoscience) from the Imperial College in London. Soon after she joined TOTAL EP Australia as an exploration geologist, she spent three years involved in new ventures projects, including Australia’s North West Shelf and Iraq Basra basins. She then worked with the organisation as a well site geologist in the North Sea and Yemen area. In 2010, she moved to Sana’a, Yemen with TOTAL E&P Yemen to work on exploration projects on basement targets. Since early 2011, she has been working for TOTAL EP Australia as an exploration geologist on operated blocks both in the Browse and Bonaparte basins. |
Said Amiribesheli is a senior geophysicist at TOTAL EP Australia. Before joining the organisation, he worked for Santos (2006–11) and NIOC (2000–3) in new ventures and exploration teams. He worked on both carbonate and clastic settings across various basins in the south and southeast Asia, the Middle East, PNG, and Australia. His present work involves seismic interpretation, mapping, and prospect generation delivering prospects to the portfolio. His technical interests include play analysis, structural geology, seismic stratigraphy, and seismic reservoir characterisation. In 2006, he obtained a PhD (geophysics) from Curtin University. |
Tan Han Kee is a geoscientist at PETRONAS, a wholly-owned company of the Malaysian government and vested with the entire ownership and control of petroleum resources in Malaysia. He joined the national oil company in 2007 and has since had responsibility for geological and geophysical studies and evaluation, operations, and wellsite geology. Prior to his present role, he was a seismic interpreter and served as geophysicist in the gas cluster project (Besar FDP) in Peninsular Malaysia. He is now assigned as geoscientist for the southeast Asia (South) joint-venture projects including Indonesia, Brunei, Australia. He obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees (geology) from the National University of Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia. |
