Drillsearch Energy Limited has reported that the Bauer-4 development well has been successfully drilled and is currently being cased and suspended as a future production well. Drillsearch holds a 60% interest in PEL 91 while Beach Energy as operator holds 40%.

The Bauer-4 development well intersected a significantly thicker McKinlay/Namur pay zone than pre-drill estimates. The well encountered both the McKinlay and Namur pay zones 6-7 meters high to pre-drill estimates intersecting 17 meters of McKinlay/Namur gross column with 14 meters of clean net pay in the Namur Sandstones. Pre-drill estimates for McKinlay and Namur pay zones were 3 meters and 5.5 meters respectively.

The Bauer Field was discovered in August 2011 with the drilling of the Bauer-1 exploration well. The discovery well intersected a 14.6m oil column in the McKinlay/Namur of which 11.7m was Namur Sandstone pay. The Bauer Oil Discovery is estimated to have gross mean oil reserves of 3.5 mmbbls. Bauer-1 has one of the largest McKinlay/Namur oil columns found to date on the Western Flank Oil Fairway.

Bauer-4 is the first of three development wells to be drilled on the Bauer Oil Discovery and following completion of the Bauer-4 operations, the Ensign-30 drilling rig will move to the Bauer-3 well site located 290 meters south east of the Bauer-1 discovery well. The Bauer-3 development well is expected to spud in the next seven days. Beach Energy as the operator of the PEL 91 JV has secured a workover/completion rig which in due course will be moving to the Bauer-1 and Bauer-4 well locations to complete these wells as oil production wells.

Following the completion of the Bauer-2 and Bauer-3 development wells, a full evaluation of these drilling results will be undertaken to update the recoverable oil estimates for the Bauer Oil Discovery. With the significant increase in net pay encountered in the Bauer-4 development well, it is anticipated that this is likely to have a positive impact on the recoverable oil in the Bauer Oil Discovery.

Tags: Drillsearch Energy