Posted on 15/08/2024
The Mereenie Joint Venture has contracted the Ventia 101 drilling rig for two additional development wells, WM-29 and WM-30 at the Mereenie Field, 250km west of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory, Australia. They should commence between December 2024 and January 2025, as the rig becomes available.
The wells are planned for ca. 30 days each reaching total depths of 1,437m and 1,655m Measured Depth (MD) respectively. They are part of the Joint Venture’s ongoing appraisal/development of the Pacoota 3 (P3) reservoir interval within the Mereenie field and are intended to increase gas production to meet Northern Territory market demand.
Please see attached Central Petroleum (Operator of the Mereenie Field) media release for further details. “Mereenie is a field we like a lot,” comments Echelon CEO, Andrew Jefferies, “so much that we just bought another 25%. It is a big structure and has further potential.
These wells demonstrate the Joint Venture’s commitment to providing the Northern Territory with further reliable conventional gas supply, and the gas contracts we recently signed are a clear demonstration of the need for that. Over the last couple of years, the JV has applied lot of science getting a better understanding of the rocks at Mereenie.
These will be the first wells drilled using that new understanding, and I'm hoping that will serve us well as we move forward.
“Our investors will know that we are spinning the bit in a couple of areas. We know there is gas down there here, gas that will help fuel tomorrow’s energy today: firing smelter furnaces; backing up unreliable renewable's; and frying your Witchetty Grubs. Gas - it's a three-letter word for transition.”
Participants in Permits OL4 and OL5 are Central Petroleum (ASX: CTP; Operator, 25%), Echelon (42.5%), Cue (ASX: CUE; 7.5%) and Horizon (ASX: HZN; 25%).