Australian oil and gas firm Santos is ready to start drilling the Pavo-1 well, offshore Western Australia.

Santos’ partner in the project, Carnarvon, said that the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up drilling rig reached the well site and completed pre-drill preparations.

The Pavo-1 well is operated by Santos with a 70 percent interest with Carnarvon as a partner holding the remaining 30 percent. It is targeting Caley reservoir sands in a similar canyon-style trap to the Dorado field.

The Dorado is one of the largest offshore oil discoveries on Australia's North Western Shelf, and Santos is working to develop it using an FPSO and a wellhead platform.

In a statement on Wednesday, Carnarvon claimed that the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up drilling rig was preparing to begin drilling the surface hole.

The rig will drill the surface hole down to around 575 feet Measured Depth and install the conductor. After the conductor has been set and cemented in place, the rig will drill the 17 1/2” hole to the planned section depth of approximately 3,280 feet measured depth followed by setting the 13 3/8” casing.

According to Carnarvon, the well will then be deepened in the 12 1/4” hole to around 9,850 feet measured depth before setting the 9 5/8” liner.

This will provide a stable foundation for the well to drill into the deeper reservoir section. The company further stated that no hydrocarbons were anticipated to be encountered in these sections.

As for the well, Pavo-1 well is targeting a gross mean recoverable volume of 82 million barrels of liquids and 108 Bcf of gas in the Caley Formation sands which flow tested at equipment limits of around 11,000 barrels of oil per day in the Dorado-3 well. Carnarvon believes that it has a one-in-three chance of success.

Also, after drilling the primary Caley target, Santos and Carnarvon have the option to drill into deeper stratigraphy including the Lower Archer Formation Dumont Member sands and the Permian carbonates.

Following completion of the Pavo-1 well, the Noble Tom Prosser will drill the Apus-1 well located 12.5 miles southwest of the Pavo-1 well.

Carnarvon concluded by stating that, in case of a Pavo success, a tie-back to the Dorado hub would be a strong option to develop the resources.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com

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