Australian oil and gas company Carnarvon Energy said Friday that the Noble Tom Prosser jack-up drilling rig was on its way to the Pavo-1 well location, offshore W. Australia.
Santos is the operator of the project, and Carnarvon is a partner with a 30% interest. Drilling is expected to start within the next week after allowing for towing and set up of the drilling rig.
Carnarvon estimates a gross mean recoverable volume of 82 million barrels of liquids and 108 Bcf of gas at Pavo, meaning that in a success case net liquids resource could be similar in volume to Carnarvon’s interest in the Dorado field in a success case.
The target reservoir is the Caley Formation sands which flow tested at equipment limits of around 11,000 barrels of oil per day in the Dorado-3 well.
The Pavo-1 well is targeting a prospect with the same reservoir type and trap style as the proven Dorado oil, gas, and condensate field.
"This is an attractive prospect, having an estimated one-in-three (34%) geological probability of success," Carnarvon said.
After drilling the primary Caley target, the joint venture has the option to drill into deeper stratigraphy including the Lower Archer Formation Dumont Member sands, and the Permian carbonates.
"Information from these intervals will be highly valuable in assessing the substantial exploration potential north and east of the Pavo prospect," the company said.
After the completion of the Pavo-1 well, the rig will drill the Apus-1 well which is located around 20km south-west of the Pavo-1 well location.