HIGHLIGHTS
Empyrean has secured the
NH9 is currently being used to drill a well for
COSL will drill the Jade well immediately following completion of operations at the current CNOOC well
Empyrean anticipates that NH9 will become available by the end of March if the current well does not encounter testable hydrocarbons or approximately 2 weeks later if a testing program is required
Following a safety inspection, there would be approximately 2 days mobilisation to the Jade well location from the current CNOOC well location
At this stage Jade will spud early April or mid April depending on results of the current CNOOC well
Empyrean is the operator of Block 29/11 in
Empyrean has been in discussions with COSL and CNOOC to establish rig availability and a 'rig slot' to drill the Jade well now that the well site survey is complete over the Jade well location. CNOOC has the NH9 well under contract with COSL for approximately the next 12 months. CNOOC has created a slot for Empyrean to drill the Jade well in it's schedule, immediately following the well currently being drilled using NH9. The rig is anticipated to become available late March or mid April depending on whether the current well encounters testable hydrocarbons.
CNOOC EnerTech Drilling and Production Co ('CNOOC EnerTech') has been contracted to provide comprehensive pre-drilling, drilling and testing services to Empyrean for the Jade well. CNOOC EnerTech has a wealth of global experience, but more importantly has vast local hands-on experience managing the drilling of wells within the
Following the recently completed well site survey over the Jade drilling location, Empyrean is expecting to receive the final survey report within the next few days. It is then anticipated that the final permit to drill Jade will be applied for and received within approximately 1 week.
Empyrean and the CNOOC EnerTech team are taking every precaution to plan for a safe drilling campaign at Jade. The COSL owned NH9 rig and its drilling team are 'drill fit' and at this stage it is envisaged that the NH9 rig will be mobilised straight to the Jade well location from its current position without the need to go back to port.
From the spud date, now anticipated to be early April to mid-April, the Jade well is anticipated to take approximately 26 days to drill to Total Depth on a trouble free basis. There are no overly challenging drilling zones anticipated with the Jade well design and program. If the Jade well intercepts a hydrocarbon zone, as anticipated, then testing is planned to take approximately a further 2 weeks.
Further, more accurate, anticipated rig mobilisation and a spud date will be announced along with further drilling details in due course.
The Jade Prospect
The 2021 drilling campaign is targeting a world-class conventional oil target in the Jade Prospect, to which
The Jade Prospect has a GCA audited mean in place potential of 225 MMbbl and a P10 in place upside of 395 MMbbl. Four recent nearby discoveries by CNOOC immediately to the West of the Jade Prospect are filled to their P10 potential or better. All four CNOOC discoveries have gas clouds showing in the overburden on seismic.
Empyrean's excellent quality 3D seismic indicates that there is a classic 'fill to spill' geological setup in the basin, and a robust regional seal, that provides the Jade and Topaz Prospects with a very real possibility of being filled in a similar fashion to nearby discoveries. The Jade and Topaz prospects both have gas clouds, similar to nearby discoveries, in the overburden on 3D seismic. Dry wells nearby do not have gas clouds. The Jade Prospect is the first of the three identified prospects within Block 29/11, which also contains the Topaz and Pearl prospects. The combined audited mean in place potential of all three prospects is 884 MMbbl and a P10 in place upside of 1,588 MMbbl. The post stack seismic inversion study showed Jade and Topaz both have the potential for excellent carbonate buildup reservoir quality with excellent porosity and permeability. Any oil discovered is expected to be light oil in the 38-41 API range, similar to nearby discoveries. These attributes combined with the potential for exceptional natural reservoir drive supports the potential for excellent recovery rates.
The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed by Empyrean's Executive Technical director,
Empyrean CEO,
Contact:
Tel: +61 6146 5325
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