ASX-listed Empire Energy Group has kicked another goal in the Beetaloo sub-basin after casing and cementing the horizontal section of its Carpentaria-3H gas well in the Northern Territory in just 2 days.
The play sets the asset up for a December reservoir fracking program where the company will look to harvest some of the zone’s 500 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Sydney-based Empire expects Carpentaria-3H’s drilling, casing and cement work to cost about $11 million – a $100,000 improvement over the cost of its previous well, Carpentaria-2H.
Empire has appears to have cracked the code on how to drill a well in the renowned Beetaloo sub-basin and has shattered several records over the past year.
Top of the list was the hydraulic stimulation, or “fracking” of a record 21 stages or reservoir intervals at its Carpentaria-2H gas well in August. Staged fracking procedures are generally performed on horizontal, gas-bearing shale wells and enable companies to optimise the placement of a well’s fractures to maximise gas production rates.
Subsequent production testing of Carpentaria-2H delivered a 30-day average of 2.4 million standard cubic feet, or “mmscf” of gas per day in September.
The company has since declared its intention to funnel the learnings from Carpentaria-2H into its nearby Carpentaria-3H and Carpentaria-4V wells and claimed another record in the process.
About a fortnight ago Empire stated its program at Carpentaria-3H had led to the completion of the longest horizontal well section to be drilled in the Beetaloo sub-basin at 2632m.
Notably, more than 90 per cent of the interval penetrated the hydrocarbon-rich Velkerri-B shale formation where robust gas shows were detected.
The record-breaking horizontal section in Carpentaria-3H overshadowed the company’s previous record with Carpentaria-2H by 150m and eclipsed previous efforts by Origin Energy and Santos.
Empire is now gearing up for a frantic end of the year that will see it commence fracking of Carpentaria-3H in December and dive into a drilling program with its Carpentaria-4V vertical well.
The company recently tied down a $15 million credit facility with Macquarie Bank and plans to tip some of the cash into advancing the campaigns.
Management says the facility is structured so that it may evolve into a project finance facility that will allow it to access future development capital once reserves are booked and sales agreements are locked in.
According to the company, the facility’s structure minimises equity dilution as it moves closer to production.
Empire Energy recently closed the book on a notable September quarter, delivering revenues of $3.96 million from its portfolio of conventional oil and gas assets in New York State and Pennsylvania.
The company ended the period with $32 million in the bank and says it is well-positioned to continue its gas hunt in the Beetaloo.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
