Thailand
(50% Interest)
Resulting from two applications made during mid 2007 and presentations to government, the Company received Notice of Qualification to Bid from the government in early September 2007 and in late December 2007 was advised of the successful tender for L20/50. The Company with Carnarvon Petroleum accepted the block award from the government at the official signing ceremony in Bangkok on 21 January 2008.
The L20/50 block is located in the southern portion of the Phitsanulok Basin and is 3,947 km2 in area and has been very lightly explored. The Phitsanulok Basin contains the largest onshore oil and gas accumulation in onshore Thailand, the Sirikit Field, with remaining reserves in excess on 200 million barrels of oil equivalent ("mmboe"). Current daily Sirikit production is 20,000bo, 55-55mmscfg and 275 tonnes of LPG. The field was brought into production in 1981 and to date has produced 180mmboe.
Carnarvon, as operator of the L20/50 block, is applying a similar exploration philosophy to exploration on the block in a basin that is a direct geological analogue to the nearby Phetchabun Basin where recent exploration by Carnarvon in the environs of Wichian Buri has been extremely successful and resulting production is now averaging 6-8,000bopd after peak rates around 15,000bopd.
Technical studies undertaken by the Joint Venture have determined the existence of a mature oil source kitchen in the deepest basinal areas adjacent to the identified leads, and have also demonstrated the potential for tacked volcanic reservoir targets in the leads as per the adjacent Phetchabun Basin where Carnarvon and Pan Orient have announced significant new oil discoveries in the “volcanic play”. The recent discovery by Carnarvon was the sixth commercial volcanic reservoir discovery made in the Phetchabun Basin Oil Field since only 2005.
The technical studies have confirmed that all previous exploration wells in the permit are “off-structure” mainly on deeper sandstone plays as per the Sirikit Oil Field, due north of L20/50, and are therefore not valid tests of this play. Despite the record of oil and gas shows in the Nong Bua-1 well, it too has been shown to be sufficiently beyond closure to warrant twinning of the well at this location until further seismic has been run to further delineate the prospect’s target sandstone reservoirs.
This exploration program is targeting an oil resource of similar size to that of Pan Orient and Carnarvon who are producing from the adjacent Phetchabun Basin, just 50 kilometres to the east. The string of discoveries by Carnarvon and Pan Orient has seen this field deliver average production of around 12,000 bopd, and the reporting of a recoverable resource in excess of 40 million barrels from a number of new oil pools in the volcanic play.
A 550km 2D seismic survey was acquired successfully during July and August 2009. At year end, this new data set was being integrated with the existing vintage seismic data to detail the prospects ready to select exploration drilling locations for 2010. A decision by the Joint Venture in early-mid January 2010 to drill between 1-4 weeks, targeting a mid 2010 spud date.