Mineral Resources reports success at Lockyer-5 gas well in Perth Basin

Australian mining and resources company Mineral Resources (MinRes) on March 26 announced the discovery of a gas reservoir at the Lockyer-5 (L-5) development well situated in the onshore Perth Basin.

Following appraisal efforts at the L-5 well, a sidetrack was drilled to a gas development well location, reaching a depth of over 4,500 m. The analysis of the findings showcased an average porosity of 18%, marking it as the highest quality reservoir encountered in all wells intersecting the Kingia Sandstone across the onshore Perth Basin, the company stated.

L-5 represents the fourth of 10 development wells planned for MinRes' Lockyer conventional gas project development in the onshore Perth Basin. In preparation for further assessments, the company is gearing up for a well test scheduled in early April 2024 to evaluate gas flow rates and composition.

MinRes' recent success builds upon its prior achievements in gas exploration. In June 2023, the company announced a discovery at North Erregulla Deep-1 (NED-1), which revealed a gas reservoir after drilling to a depth exceeding 4,000 m. Additionally, an oil zone was identified in the secondary objective Dongara Sandstone at a depth of approximately 3,000 m.

Subsequently, in March 2024 MinRes began drilling at North Erregulla-2 (NE-2) and is expected to reach a total depth of 3,492 m by mid-April.

NE-2 serves as an appraisal well aimed at testing the quality and deliverability of oil in the Dongara-Wagina Sandstone, which was encountered in the NED-1 well. A flow test is set to further evaluate the significant oil potential in the region.

Following successful exploration and appraisal of the Lockyer gas field, MinRes is progressing plans to develop a gas production facility to help reduce the company’s dependency on diesel and support domestic market needs, it said.

The company has commenced the engineering design and approvals works for the gas production facility which will feed into the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline.