More high-impact wells likely offshore Southeast Asia in 2020

Wood Mackenzie predicts several high-impact exploration wells across the Asia/Pacific region this year.

According to Asia Pacific vice chair, Gavin Thompson, PTTEP’s Shwe Nadi well, in partnership with Total, will target deep-water gas in the Moattama basin off Myanmar.

A success could help opening a new play in the Andaman Sea.

In 2019, PTTEP’s discovered at least 3 tcf of gas in the HP/HT Lang Lebah prospect offshore Sarawak. Thompson expected the company to look to move swiftly to develop the find through Malaysia’s LNG export infrastructure, just over 50 km (31 miles) away.

Elsewhere in the region, OMV’s deep-water Tawhiki-1 well will target oil in New Zealand’s Great South basin.

Others to watch will be Eni’s Đàn Đáy-1X well in Vietnam’s Song Hong basin, Repsol’s deep-water Rencong-1X well in the North Sumatra basin off Indonesia, and BP’s well on the potentially giant Ironbark prospect in Western Australia’s offshore North Carnarvon basin.

Some of the major players will also work on delineating recent finds, although proving commerciality may not be straightforward, Mr Thompson suggested.

He instanced PTTEP’s Lang Lebah in Malaysia and Eni’s Ken Bau in Vietnam, both HP/HT accumulations with a mixture of carbon dioxide and/or hydrogen sulphide.

Appraisal drilling could prove crucial in establishing the scale of the technical and geological challenges involved, as well as confirming size and commerciality.

Mr Thompson also saw Asian NOCs extending their global presence. CNOOC is already a deep-water player on the world stage, he pointed out, while Petronas is present in high-impact plays off Brazil and Mexico. Others will likely follow.

Source: Offshore Magazine