Strong gas flow persists for Empire at Beetaloo well

Empire Energy has notched up another milestone in the Beetaloo sub-basin with ongoing production testing of its Carpentaria-2H well in the Northern Territory delivering a 30-day average of 2.4 million standard cubic feet, or “mmscf” of gas per day. The company says its new data suggests the well’s gas is endowed with a low impurity composition that could support low carbon development opportunities.

Management have calculated the encouraging figures equate to about 2.6 mmscf of gas per day for every 1,000m of the well’s horizontal section.

The Perth-based energy producer is now looking to develop a more comprehensive understanding of which of the well’s reservoir intervals or “stimulation stages” are responsible for delivering the greatest impact on its flow rates.

Earlier work at the well saw the company complete hydraulic fracture stimulation or “fracking” of 21 stages at Carpentaria-2H – a record in the Beetaloo sub-basin.

Next up for Empire is a review of borehole monitoring or “tracer” data derived from the program that will shortly commence.

The technology used in the process is seen as an increasingly important tool in reservoir evaluation and monitoring that essentially involves placing chemical trackers in borehole fluids and using the material movements to paint a picture of the gas resource’s characteristics.

Empire Energy’s Managing Director, Alex Underwood said:“We keenly await the receipt of gas and water tracer data that will demonstrate the relative contribution to gas flow from the various stimulation stages in the well. This is likely to provide clarity on which fluid systems and perforation designs are best suited to the development of the Velkerri shale, to be incorporated into stimulation strategy for the Carpentaria-3H well.”

The company aims to use data from Carpentaria-2H to fuel production efforts at its soon-to-be drilled Carpentaria-3H and Carpentaria-4V wells.

Each of the three wells sit in the renowned Beetaloo sub-basin – a zone believed to host a colossal gas resource tipping the scales at about 500 trillion cubic feet.

The area takes in about 28,000 square kilometres and is tipped to play a key role in supplying Australia’s future energy demands.

Recent studies suggest the region’s development could also generate 6000 new jobs by over the next two decades and increase economic activity by around to $36 billion.

The remarkable figures have led both the Northern Territory and Federal Governments to commit $170 million into the zone’s development through a swathe of new infrastructure grants.

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