First nod: the Chilton oilfield has produced first oil
Drillsearch toast first Chiton pay
Australian producer Beach Petroleum has flowed first commercial production from the Chiton field on PEL 91, on the western flank of the Cooper basin in South Australia, project partner Drillsearch Energy said.
Drillsearch said the project, the first commercial discovery on PEL 91, had the potential to boost its total annual oil production by 200%.
It said in a statement that the field was currently producing at a choked back rate of between 245 and 478 barrels of oil per day due to limited storage and trucking out capacity at the site.
The company said a single tanker of oil had been delivered to Santos’s Dullingaru processing centre before roads in the area were shut by heavy rains associated with the remnants of Cyclone Olga.
Drillsearch said the production had now been shut in until deliveries can resume. It said the on-site storage facilities were full.
It said it expected to be able to operate the Chiton-1 well with the choke wide open once trucking resumed in the area and transportation arrangements are finalised by the joint venture.
Beach operates PEL 91 with a 40% stake while Drillsearch holds the remaining 60%.
Drillsearch also said it had agreed with Beach to carry out a 3D survey over 450 square kilometres to cover more than 20 Namur Sandstone prospects, as well prospective areas of the Birkhead formation south of the Wirraway, Growler and Snatcher discoveries, which hall tap the Birkhead.
Work on the survey is expected to start in March.
Drillsearch managing director Brad Lingo said the company was working to evaluate four or five new drilling locations proposed by Beach on PEL 91 targeting both the Namur and Birkhead formations. He said the company was considering undertaking a multi-well programme within the next six months targeting both plays.