Project Profile
Value: Undisclosed
Location: Exploration permit, EP413, Australia
Estimated gross prospective resources: 450 million barrels of oil equivalent
Start-up Year: -
The L14 production licence contains the Origin Energy-operated Jingemia oil field while the surrounding exploration permit, EP413, is underexplored and is prospective for oil, conventional gas and shale gas. Norwest is the operator of the Arrowsmith testing programme and holds an approximate 27.9% interest. Its EP413 joint venture partners are AWE, which holds about 44.3% interest via subsidiaries, and Bharat PetroResources, which holds the remaining 27.8% stake in the project. The company believes strongly in EP413\'s potential and this acreage is the focal point of Norwest\'s shale gas exploration strategy. The permit\'s shale gas potential played a large role in attracting BPL, as a farm-in partner.
Norwest and AWE have agreed to work together towards drilling a well on EP413 in early 2011 and BPRL is eager to participate in this project. The current target location is at Arrowsmith, a prospect that was drilled in the \'60s and flowed gas. It is proposed to drill to about 3200 metres and complete and produce from the Caryginia formation. As part of evaluating the shale gas potential core data will be acquired at the three shale intervals: the Kockatea Shale, the Caryginia Shale and the Irwin Coal Measures. Two major pipelines (the Dampier-Bunbury pipeline and the Parmelia pipeline) run near this permit, which lies immediately north of the energy-hungry markets of Perth and South West WA and immediately south of the emerging Mid West mining province.
Given WA\'s high gas prices, the northern Perth Basin\'s infrastructure and the proximity to major markets, Norwest believes this region is a good candidate to become Australia\'s first shale gas production province. But EP413 also offers more than just shale gas potential. There is considerable potential for conventional oil and gas in this underexplored block.
Several leads and prospects require further evaluation as potential conventional drill targets. These include: Robb, Aiyeenu, Stockyard, Weelawadji and Uniwa. All of these leads and prospects will be evaluated for both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons potential in the process of conducting the shale gas program. Lying to the northwest of EP413, the L14 production (Norwest 6.278% working interest) lease offers Norwest a modest but reliable revenue stream through the Jingemia oil field. Jingemia has to date produced more than 4 million barrels out of an estimated oil in place of 12MMbbls. It is currently recovering 39% of in-place oil, leaving significant potential to increase the recovery rate.
The nearby Hovea field is recovering 63% and simulation work predicts Jingemia is likely to recover 44% providing an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) program is used. Jingemia operator, Origin Energy believes a chemical EOR is considered the most likely technique to be commercially viable. The most promising technologies are surfactant flooding and surfactant polymer flooding. These techniques are used successfully in other projects elsewhere and could add further production life to the field.
Operators:
Norwest: Operator with 27.9% interest
Bharat PetroResources: 27.8% interest
AWE: 44.3% interest
Contractors:
Halliburton: Hydraulic fracture stimulation equipment