Beach Energy's Moonta-1 Well Encounters Gas

Beach Energy Limited has said that the Moonta-1 shale and basin centred gas well reached total depth of 3,810 metres Monday. The initial results have been encouraging as the well appears to be gas saturated throughout the Permian target zone, from the Toolachee Formation to basement at the bottom of the Patchawarra Formation. This covers multiple intervals over a total target zone of greater than one kilometre.

In considering the Shale and Basin Centred gas program moving forward, Beach believes that the well bore design can be such that a vertical production well could produce gas from the whole of the Permian target zone. This may possibly result in the Nappamerri Trough Basin Centred Gas play including both horizontal and vertical wells as part of the development plan in 2013.

The Ensign 916 rig that drilled Moonta-1 will spend a further week on site for evaluation and suspension purposes, after which it will be mobilised to the Streaky-1 well location, approximately 10 kilometres to the South East of Moonta-1. Streaky-1 is expected to spud within two weeks of release from Moonta-1.

Meanwhile, the fracture stimulation of the Patchawarra Formation (one stage only) at Encounter-1 has been completed with the well currently flowing back fracture stimulation fluid and steam. This will be diverted through a separator within days, at which point the first gas readings will be taken.

The Halliburton fracture stimulation spread will now be released from PEL 218. It is anticipated that the spread will be available again in June/July, at which time it will complete the remaining target sections in Encounter-1 and undertake fracture stimulation of the Moonta-1 well.