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Waitsia status rises

AWE’S Waitsia-4 well has produced the field’s highest flow rate to date and one of the highest ever recorded in onshore Australia at 90 million cubic feet per day.

Helen Clark | 22 November 2017 | Energy News Bulletin

Last week RISC updated its independent review of Waitsia’s 2P gas reserves by a staggering 78% and AWE subsequently completed a successful $38 million capital raising share issue, and at this point the only issue holding back development of Western Australia’s largest onshore gas discovery is further gas sales agreements.

Though these might be hampered by completion of Beach Energy’s acquisition of Lattice Energy, which was recently sold by Waitsia joint venture partner Origin Energy, all the signs for the field are strong.

The 90MMcfpd Waitsia-4 flow test follows exceeded expectations at Waitsia-2 and 3, with Waitsia-3 flowing at 50MMcfpd.

The Waitsia-4 testing program was designed to determine well deliverability from the southern extent of the Waitsia field and to collect gas samples for compositional analysis.

A 50m interval was perforated in the Kingia sandstone, from 3370-3420m below the rotary table.

Well clean up began at 3.48pm on Monday and finished 17 hours later, after which Waitsia-4 flowed gas at an instantaneous maximum rate of 90MMcfpd and an average of 89.6MMcfpd on a 96/64 choke at around 2395psgi flowing well head pressure over 23 minutes

This latest test highlights the excellent conventional reservoir quality and well deliverability, AWE said and is the last stage before the final investment decision for Waitsia Stage 2 development.

CEO and managing director David Biggs said the results were exceptional and the appraisal program this year had been outstanding.

“We have successfully confirmed a high quality, conventional reservoir system with excellent well deliverability,” he said.

The results have reinforced plans for Stage 2 development, “particularly the low number of wells required and the straightforward facilities design,” he said.

The results have been incorporated into the company’s ongoing evaluation of reserves and the company says it expects to release a reserves update before the end of the year, with no further appraisal needed before FID.

RISC’s updated reserves report increased 2P reserves by 78% to 811 petajoules, making it WA’s largest onshore discovery.

The well will be shut in for a pressure build up survey before flow tests at varied choke settings, rates and well head pressures and will be finished by month’s end.

AWE rose by more than 6% this morning to trade at 57.7c.

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