Strike Hits Snag at Oz Jaws-1 Project

Australian Strike Energy has encountered difficulties while undertaking horizontal drilling at its Jaws-1 project in the Cooper Basin, the company said April 11.

“Challenging whole conditions believed to be due to localised embrittlement of the coal at the exit of the 9-5/8-inch casing resultant from the cementing activities are impeding progression,” it said.  A remedial cement program is now in progress to stabilise the first 50 meters of horizontal section below the shoe and provide a strong foundation for further drilling, it said.

“Further updates will be provided on the forward schedule of the Jaws-1 Project in due course,” it added. It’s unclear if this will delay completion of the drilling program that was scheduled to end this month. The Jaws-1 project wells are being drilled by US multinational Halliburton in collaboration with Ensign on the 965 rig.

The horizontal well is the second of a two-well appraisal campaign designed to prove commercial flow rates of gas and assess the quality of Strike’s Southern Cooper Basin Gas Project in PEL96 (Strike 66.67% and operator, Energy World Corporation 33.33%). Australian energy advisory firm EnergyQuest said March 12 that the outcome of Strike’s Jaws-1 well “will be critical for a number of east coast gas buyers”.