InterOil Begins Flow Testing at PNG's Elk-Antelope Gas Field

InterOil Corp on Monday said it has begun flow testing at the Elk-Antelope gas field in Papua New Guinea as part of the field appraisal.

The Antelope-5 flow rate is constrained by reservoir engineers to a maximum test rate of about 70 million standard cubic feet a day, InterOIl said.

Elk-Antelope LNG Project, a joint venture of InterOil, Total and Oil Search.

“Antelope-5 has the best reservoir thickness, quality and fracture density of all wells on the field, which signifies a world-class reservoir,” InterOil Chief Executive Michael Hession said. “By flowing the well under different conditions, we will be able to calculate maximum potential flow rates and better understand reservoir size, productivity and connectivity.”

Hession said data from the testing would help the joint venture to optimize design of the LNG plant and associated infrastructure.

The joint venture is finalizing plans for field testing, including drilling another well, Antelope-6, to define the eastern flank of the reservoir.

InterOil added that the venture remained on track to select a preferred development concept by mid-year, to begin early development work in 2016, and to award contracts for construction in 2017.