WAITARIA 2 EXPLORATION WELL,
PEP 38335, EAST COAST NEW ZEALAND,
DRILLING AHEAD AT 1903 METRES.
Pancontinental Oil & Gas NL is pleased to announce that at 18:00 hrs (NZST) 15 February 2001, the Waitaria 2 exploration well was drilling ahead at a depth of 1903 metres in tight siltstones, minor claystones and poor quality, tight sandstones of the Mid Miocene age Tunanui Formation.
For the interval 1638 to 1903 metres, drilled during the last 24 hrs, down-hole cutting samples and drilling penetration rates have indicated that no significant porous sandstone reservoir beds have been encountered. Current biostratigraphic information indicates that the stratigraphic zone containing the thick, quality reservoir sandstone units within the Tunanui Formation are at a deeper depth than previously prognosed.
In order to reach and evaluate these quality reservoir zones, the well will be drilled to a total depth of 2590 metres.
While drilling down to 1903 metres, background gas levels have ranged up to 0.28%, with chromatograph readings of methane, C1 (1827ppm), ethane, C2 (149ppm), propane, C3 (112 ppm). Mud weight has been increased to 15.5ppg. The synthetic based mud system is masking fluorescence, and none has been noted.
At total depth electric logs will be run to evaluate the open-hole section and define reservoirs that justify production testing.
Pancontinental Oil and Gas NL announced previously that it had reached agreement with Westech Energy New Zealand to earn a 7.5% equity in PEP 38335, East Coast Basin of the North Island of New Zealand, by contributing 10.0% of the US $1.327 million drilling costs of the Waitaria 2 well. Pancontinental will only contribute 7.5% to additional drilling, completion and testing costs. This agreement is still subject to final Government approval.
The Waitaria prospect has been delineated by a close grid of modern 2D seismic data. The prospect has been mapped by the operator to have 4 way dip closure over an area of 6 square kilometres and vertical closure of 700 metres at a level immediately above the primary Mid-Miocene age Tunanui sandstone target reservoir.
The operator has estimated that the potential recoverable reserves of the Waitaria prospect are 88 million barrels oil or 360 billion cubic feet gas.
PEP 38335 covers an area of 409 square kilometres and incorporates the regional city of Gisborne. Approximately 50 kilometres to the south-west, in the Westech operated PEP 38329 permit, are the late 1998 Kauhauroa and Awatare gas discoveries, adjacent to the town of Wairoa. The Kauhauroa and Awatare gas discoveries are in Miocene reservoirs and recorded test gas flows of up to 11.5 million cubic feet per day.
Participating interests in PEP 38335 (after earning) are :-
| Pancontinental Oil and Gas NL | 7.5% |
| Westech Energy New Zealand | 27.5% (Operator) |
| Orion Exploration Ltd | 27.5% |
| Indo-Pacific Energy (NZ) Ltd | 25.0% |
| Sun Resources NL | 7.5% |
| Everest Energy Inc | 5.0% |
Enquiries:
Andrew Svalbe
Tel: 08 9227 7178
Fax: 08 9227 9079
Email: svalbe@pancon.com.au
