After months of Covid-impacted labour shortages, Buru Energy has begun the process of well testing at its Rafael 1 oil and gas well in WA’s Canning Basin. The company has started the clean up process in anticipation of turning the taps on, opening up the valves and finally ascertaining definitive flow rates from November’s ‘wet gas’ discovery. A robust result could lead to Buru’s second major development in the area.
Wet gas denotes a high volume of light liquids such as LPGs and condensate that flow out of the well bore along with methane that can provide valuable additional cashflows.
The well test will also quantify the definitive composition of the gas and fluids flowing from the well bore that was drilled last year.
Buru said testing operations commenced at the Rafael 1 well with the initial clean up flow underway. It was initially delayed by a number of minor operational issues that it said were safely resolved prior to work getting underway.
The Rafael test program will include a series of flow periods and shut-ins, both critical steps in determining the reservoir’s deliverability, gas composition, fluids, pressures and potential boundaries.
The company said initial results of definitive rate tests and gas composition analyses are expected to be announced next week. The full test program is expected to take 7 to 10 days to complete.
When drilled in November 21, the Rafael 1 well encountered an interpreted series of significant gas columns and was suspended pending a flow test of the Ungani Dolomite equivalent reservoir section.
Buru said the Rafael discovery has the potential to contain a material wet gas accumulation in a conventional high quality dolomite reservoir, with a very low CO2 content in the gas.
Until this month the SA and Qld-based crews had been prevented from entering WA due to the Covid-driven hard borders imposed by the state government.
Buru says initial analysis of petrophysical and wireline data from Rafael’s net reservoir section suggests the zone is similar to the dolomite reservoir at the nearby oil producing Ungani field.
Buru and partner Origin Energy are hoping the Rafael discovery will reveal itself to be a discovery worthy of a full field development to match the cash generating Ungani oilfield 50km to the west. The next few weeks will give market watchers an idea if the wait has been worth it.
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By Matt Birney
