The other Erregulla discovery, Wagina Sandstone, north Perth Basin
Matthew Wright A * , Anthony Cortis B , Aisling Sloan A and Andrew Farley AA Strike Energy Limited, West Perth, WA, Australia.
B IGESI Consulting, Ottawa, Canada.
The APPEA Journal 63 247-263 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22163
Submitted: 9 December 2022 Accepted: 3 February 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
Although the major focus of exploration within the onshore north Perth Basin and the greater Erregulla area has been the prolific high gas-rate Kingia discoveries, there are additional discoveries being made in sandstones within basal parts of the upper Permian Wagina Sandstone. During the drilling of the most recent of these discoveries at South Erregulla-1, a high-pressure porous interval was encountered within the lower part of the Wagina Sandstone at a depth of 3903 m. The Wagina Sandstone has been enigmatic in the deeper Dandaragan Trough. To date, 10 wells in the Dandaragan Trough have penetrated the entire upper Permian sequence, and all wells show some gas charge. However, nine of the 10 wells contain only minor amounts of mostly low-quality reservoir development. Only the South Erregulla-1 well contains conventional porosity as well as significant amounts of tight gas pay. The mechanism for preserving porosity in the basal Wagina sandstone is different to the early Permian Kingia Sandstone but provides an important and additional gas reservoir in the deepest Wagina penetration in the Perth Basin.
Keywords: deep reservoir, Dandaragan Trough, Perth Basin, Permian, South Erregulla, Strike Energy, Wagina Sandstone, West Erregulla.
Matthew Wright has over 15 years of oil and gas experience, graduated Curtin University (Perth) with a BSc in Geology and is a member of PESA and SPWLA. He spent the first 12 years working with Baker Hughes supporting Australia and Asia Pacific operations as a log analyst and geosteering supervisor while being involved in advancements in both LWD and mudlogging technology. Matthew joined Strike Energy in 2020 as Senior Geologist just prior to the start of the West Erregulla appraisal campaign, responsible for operations and formation evaluation. |
Anthony (Tony) Cortis is a Professional Geologist (APEGA) and Principal in Igesi Consulting Inc. based in Canada. Tony has worked closely with Strike Energy Ltd since 2017 and has been part of teams evaluating both deep coals in the Cooper Basin and the various plays in the north Perth Basin. He holds a BSc in Geology from Laurentian University and MSc in Geology from the University of Manitoba. His company provides integrated upstream and venture management consulting to clients. Previously he worked for 28 years for both Shell Canada and Royal Dutch Shell in various roles both in Canada and worldwide. |
Aisling Sloan holds a MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Aberdeen and a BSc (Hons) from the University of Western Australia. Prior to joining Strike as a geologist in May 2022, Aisling worked for Beach Energy in Adelaide. She is a Member of PESA. |
Andrew Farley graduated from the University of Newcastle (Australia) in 2002 with a BSc in Geology. He has 20 years of experience working with onshore oil and gas operators on exploration and development projects in all five mainland states of Australia. Prior to joining Strike Energy in 2012, Andrew worked with AGL Energy in Sydney. Andrew has held a number of technical positions at Strike Energy, becoming Exploration Manager in September 2019. Andrew has led the subsurface team during the design and execution of the company’s exploration and development projects, most notably the West Erregulla, Erregulla and Walyering fields in the Perth Basin. Andrew is a member of SPE and PESA. |
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