Nido Petroleum and Lundin Petroleum will in November 2013 start a highly anticipated two well drilling program in Indonesia targeting multi-million barrels of oil.
Swedish listed Lundin, a A$7 billion market cap, will use the Hakuryu 11 jack-up rig to drill the Balqis-1 exploration well plus Boni-1 sidetrack in Baronang production sharing contract in the offhsore West Natuna Basin and the Gobi-1 exploration well in the Gurita PSC in the offshore Malay Basin.
The Balqis-1 exploration well will test the oil potential of the primary Upper and Lower Gabus Formation sandstones in a 3D defined structural closure. The Grabus has estimated Best Case Unrisked Prospective Resources of 47 million barrels of oil.
The Boni-1 will sidetrack will test the oil potential of the Lower Gabus Formation where it onlaps the Balqis Basement high and forms a large stratigraphic trap. This could host up to 55 million barrels of oil.
These plays are analogous to the producing fields in the adjacent Kakap PSC.
Gurita is located adjacent to number of major oil and gas fields such as the Belida Field to the northeast, which had 350 million barrels of oil Reserves and peak production of 140,000 barrels of oil per day.
The Gobi-1 exploration well will test the oil potential of multiple reservoir objectives within the Lower Arang, Udang, Gabus and Belut Formations located within a 3D defined structural closure
These have estimated Resources of 24 million barrels of oil.
Nido is earning a 10% participating interest in each PSC by paying a disproportionate share of the exploration costs associated with the drilling of the wells as well as paying 10% of past costs.
It has the right to increase its participation interest in each of the three PSCs, up to a maximum of 20%.
