ASX-listed Empire Energy has wrapped up a successful round of hydraulic stimulation at its Carpentaria-3H gas well in the Northern Territory’s revered Beetaloo sub-basin. According to the company the program’s total outlay of $17.3 million is roughly $3.6 million under its initial projections and is delivering results across each of the 40 planned stages of a 1989m section of the horizontal well bore.
Hydraulic stimulation, commonly known as “fracking” is generally performed on horizontal, gas-bearing shale wells which enables companies to optimize the placement of a well’s fractures to maximize gas production rates.
The number of stages is contingent on an asset’s depth, with deeper bores, such as the over 2600m Carpentaria-3H well, generally hosting more intervals.
Notably, Empire says 35 of the 40 stages were executed within the zone’s Velkerri-B shale target – a zone the Northern Territory’s government states could hold as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of gas.
To maximise the amount of hydrocarbons extracted in a given operation operators use a chemical mixture known as fracking fluid. According to the company it used a host of hydraulic fluids in the fracking of Carpentaria-3H’s 40 stages including crosslink, slickwater and a hybrid blend of both formulations.
Empire previously used slickwater to great effect in its nearby Carpentaria-2H gas well. The NSW-based company said at the time its use of the blend for a chunk of Carpentaria-2H’s stages was tied to the material’s knack of delivering economical gas recovery rates along with its reduced inclusions of chemical additives.
The company is now preparing the well for an extended round of production test work that is scheduled to run for a period of 90 days. The program will be used to get a handle on the reservoir’s long-term deliverability and will flow into the design of a proposed pilot project to supply commercial gas from the Beetaloo. If successful, the operation will be a first in the Beetaloo sub-basin.
In order to determine long-term reservoir deliverability for future development planning, flowback and production testing will be monitored. They will also be incorporated into the planning and design for the proposed pilot project, which intends to supply the first commercial gas from the Beetaloo.
Empire Energy’s Managing Director Alex Underwood stated:
“Front end engineering and design work continues for the Carpentaria Pilot Project alongside gas sales and pipeline connection negotiations. These results further increase the team’s confidence as we drive towards early commercialisation. The strong cost performance of this program leaves Empire well-funded for the critical upcoming work required to make a Final Investment Decision.”
Empire currently has its foot on a suite of gas wells in the in the Beetaloo including Carpentaria-3H, Carpentaria-2H and Carpentaria-4V. The company says fresh drilling, particularly at Carpentaria-4V could permit a significant upshot to its independently assessed discovered or “contingent” resources. Last year Empire noted its assets in the region held a contingent resource of 554 billion cubic feet of gas and 3.5 million barrels of liquids.
Carpentaria-4V has to-date been drilled to a depth of 2000m and results from the program will be integrated into a new independent resource assessment envisioned for early this year.
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