The Waitsia Field, onshore North Perth Basin, Western Australia
Neil Tupper A , Eric Matthews A , Gareth Cooper A , Andy Furniss A , Tim Hicks A and Suzanne Hunt AAWE Limited
The APPEA Journal 56(1) 29-44 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15003
Published: 2016
Abstract
The Waitsia Field represents a new commercial play for the onshore north Perth Basin with potential to deliver substantial reserves and production to the domestic gas market. The discovery was made in 2014 by deepening of the Senecio–3 appraisal well to evaluate secondary reservoir targets. The well successfully delineated the extent of the primary target in the Upper Permian Dongara and Wagina sandstones of the Senecio gas field but also encountered a combination of good-quality and tight gas pay in the underlying Lower Permian Kingia and High Cliff sandstones.
The drilling of the Waitsia–1 and Waitsia–2 wells in 2015, and testing of Senecio-3 and Waitsia-1, confirmed the discovery of a large gas field with excellent flow characteristics. Wireline log and pressure data define a gross gas column in excess of 350 m trapped within a low-side fault closure that extends across 50 km2. The occurrence of good-quality reservoir in the depth interval 3,000–3,800 m is diagenetically controlled with clay rims inhibiting quartz cementation and preserving excellent primary porosity.
Development planning for Waitsia has commenced with the likelihood of an early production start-up utilising existing wells and gas processing facilities before ramp-up to full-field development. The dry gas will require minimal processing, and access to market is facilitated by the Dampier–Bunbury and Parmelia gas pipelines that pass directly above the field.
The Waitsia Field is believed to be the largest conventional Australian onshore discovery for more than 30 years and provides impetus and incentive for continued exploration in mature and frontier basins. The presence of good-quality reservoir and effective fault seal was unexpected and emphasise the need to consider multiple geological scenarios and to test unorthodox ideas with the drill bit.
Neil Tupper joined AWE in May 2013 in the role of General Manager Exploration and Geoscience. He is responsible for leading AWE’s team of geoscientists across all areas of the business in exploration, development and new ventures. Neil has more than 30 years of industry experience, having worked in a variety of technical and managerial positions for Santos, Enterprise Oil, Origin Energy and BP. He has operating experience in the basins of Australia, PNG and Indonesia, plus good working knowledge of Southeast Asia, New Zealand, the US, UK and North Africa. Neil’s specific areas of expertise include strategic planning, portfolio analysis, prospect evaluation, technical due diligence and peer review, reserves assessment, unitisation, and business development. He has a MSc in sedimentology and its applications, and a BSc (Hons) in geology. neil.tupper@awexplore.com |
Eric Matthews is a petroleum geologist with more than 30 years’ experience in oil exploration, primarily in Australia and New Zealand. He first worked for Shell in Taranaki in 1975 before completing higher degrees in geology and working for a year with the New Zealand Oceanographic Institute. In 1982 he joined New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG) and was Exploration Manager for both NZOG and sister company Pan Pacific Petroleum from 1994. In his time with NZOG he was instrumental in a number of discoveries, notably Kupe, Ngatoro and, more recently, the Tui oil discovery. In 2004 Eric joined AWE as Asset Manager, responsible for the company’s New Zealand exploration activities, and is presently Chief Geologist. Eric has BSc, MSc and PhD degrees in geology. Member: AAPG, SPE and PESA. eric.matthews@awexplore.com |
Gareth Cooper is a structural geologist at AWE with a background in basin modelling, heat flow and organic petrology. He has worked as a geologist for Santos Ltd, New Guinea Energy Ltd, and Hot Dry Rocks Pty Ltd. Gareth graduated with a BSc (Hons) (Wollongong) degree in 1990, and a PhD (Monash) in 1995. He is a member of PESA and TSOP, and an Associate Member of the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology (ICCP). gareth.cooper@awexplore.com |
Andy Furniss joined AWE in 2009 as Principal Geophysicist. In his present role as Exploration Manager he is responsible for the technical oversight and management of AWE’s diverse portfolio and joint ventures. Andy also acts in a functional capacity as AWE’s Chief Geophysicist. Andy has more than 25 years of experience, having worked in a variety of technical and managerial roles for Chevron, WAPET and Paradigm Geophysical. His exploration expertise has been applied across the UK North Sea, North Atlantic margins, Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Asia and Australian onshore and offshore basins. His technical expertise lies in advanced seismic imaging, reservoir characterisation and exploration portfolio management. Andy has a MSc in exploration geophysics, and a BSc (Hons) in geological sciences. andy.furniss@awexplore.com |
Tim Hicks is a development geologist for AWE Ltd. Tim attended Queensland University of Technology where he completed a BAppSc(Hons) in geology, and an LLB and an LLM in natural resources law. Tim has been employed in the Australian resources sector since 1995 in various capacities, ranging from field exploration projects through to legal advisor. Tim presently works on AWE’s development and production assets as Staff Development Geologist. Member: AAPG, IAS, SEPM, SPE and PESA. tim.hicks@awexplore.com |
Suzanne Hunt has a PhD in geomechanics, a BSc in geophysics with mathematics, and a MSc in mining geology. She has more than 18 years’ experience in the petroleum sector in geophysics, field development planning, reserves estimation, and production and facilities engineering. Suzanne has published more than 50 papers in production engineering, field development planning, reservoir engineering, micro-seismicity, and geomechanics. Suzanne is Engineering and Development Manager at AWE. Member: SPE. suzanne.hunt@awexplore.com |
