Oil well harbinger of new field

Press, 5 September 1983, Page 21

Oil well harbinger of new field

PA Melbourne The Jabiru One-A well in the Timor Sea off the Northern Territory may have encountered a field holding more than 100 million barrels of oil and could join Bass Strait and the Cooper Basin as a major oil-producing region, according to oil analysts. Two analysts interviewed by AAP on Friday said that the well, about 300 km off the north-west tip of Australia, probably had recoverable reserves of more than 200 million barrels, and would form part of a commercial field in the next few years. Stuart McKibbin, an analyst with the Melbourne broker A. C. Goode and Company said that the well had features similar to the North Sea.

“The sands are absolutely fantastic ... it has textbook oil reserves like the Middle East and the North Sea,” Mr McKibbin said.

The well probably holds between 120 to 170 million barrels and may hold up to 250 million barrels according to the very limited information available from hydrocarbon indications in the lower jurassic sands, he said.

The oil could be recovered with the latest technology even though it was far offshore and in 119 metres, compared to depths of 50 metres in Bass Strait.

A Sydney-based oil analyst said that Jabiru was comparable to the Viking Graben field in the North Sea and the oil quality was superior to the Bass Strait fields. “Jabiru has a minimum of 100 million barrels but has the potential to exceed 200 million barrels,” the analyst said. “It’s importance is not in one field but in that it indicates a whole new oil prospect. "We now have to advise

people that if they are going to invest in oil they should invest in the Timor Sea, not just Bass Strait and the Cooper Basin,” the analyst said.

In the last two days, wireline tests have resulted in the recovery of 7300 cubic centimetres of oil and 11 cubic feet of gas from Jabiru One between 1602 to 1647.2 metres. Interests in the well are BHP’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Hematite Petroleum Proprietary, Ltd, 50 per cent, Citco Australia Petroleum, 18.75 per cent, Norcen International, Ltd, 12.5 per cent. Weeks Australia 10.3125 per cent, Ampol Exploration, Ltd, 6.25 per cent, Brenda Mines, Ltd, 1.037 per cent, and Norando Australia, Ltd, 1.037 per cent. “The triassic section in the Jabiru well is another target and must be given some probability of containing hydrocarbon,” the analyst said.