The story of Esso Australia’s push to explore the frontier Gippsland Basin with the ultra-deep water Sculpin-1 exploration well
Steven Spencer A *A Esso Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
The APPEA Journal 62 S497-S501 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21064
Accepted: 17 February 2022 Published: 13 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
In late 2018, Esso Australia embarked on the drilling of Sculpin-1. Drilled in 2278 m of water, this is Australia’s deepest water exploration well and the first ultra-deep water well in the Gippsland Basin. Drilling of this well was the culmination of a bold exploration campaign in the VIC/P70 permit at the southeastern margin of the prolific hydrocarbon producing Gippsland Basin, which also saw the drilling of Baldfish-1 and Hairtail-1 in 2018. An east coast gas market with a high demand for additional gas resources combined with Esso Australia’s renewed technical focus on the deep and ultra-deep water sectors of the VIC/P70 exploration permit led to the identification of the Sculpin prospect, a stratigraphic lead premised on a late Cretaceous deep water reservoir system flowing into the south east Gippsland Basin depocentre from southern hinterlands. Technical analysis including integrated seismic toolkits, spectral decomposition and colour-blend imaging, rock properties and amplitude versus offset/direct hydrocarbon indicator modelling were key to Esso’s decision to test the new play with the Sculpin-1 well. Although the well did not encounter hydrocarbons, it did provide insights into reservoir quality, source and migration in the previously untested southeastern margin of the basin.
Keywords: Cretaceous, deep water, distributary channel, drilling, exploration, frontier, gas, geology, Gippsland Basin, logs, migration, offshore, petroleum hydrocarbon, prospect, risks, Sculpin, seismic, source, ultra-deep, well.
Steven Spencer is an ExxonMobil exploration and production geoscientist based in Melbourne, Australia. He completed a B.Sc. (Hons)/B.Com. double degree at La Trobe University/The University of Melbourne and subsequently joined Esso Australia in 2008. He has worked on multiple projects across the Gippsland Basin, Northwest Shelf and Gulf of Papua. He has a particular interest in quantitative seismic interpretation and geophysics, and has also honed a broad skillset in assessment, well planning and geological modelling. He is currently working as the lead production geologist on the Tuna and Kipper Fields in the Gippsland Basin. Steven is a longstanding member of PESA and has also been an SEG member. |
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