Canadian oil and gas company Valeura Energy has made three oil discoveries on its assets in the offshore Gulf of Thailand.
The Nong Yao-13 well was drilled to 5,399ft measured depth and more than 30ft of new oil resources were discovered across several intervals. In a press statement, the company noted that the result confirmed that oil has successfully migrated into this area of the block, an area which Valeura felt was at risk of containing nothing.
According to Valeura, reservoirs containing similar oil reserves are recurring across the Nong Yoa area and will be investigated further. Additional work includes follow-up exploration and appraisal drilling in the vicinity, with the objective of amassing sufficient volumes to justify future development.
The company also made discoveries at two wells drilled north of the Wassana oil field. The first well, known as Niramai-4, is located 1km north-east of the successful Niramai-1 oil discovery, which was originally drilled in 2009. The new Niramai-4 well was drilled to 7,312ft measured depth, and more than 90ft of new oil was discovered across two reservoirs.
The Wanna North prospect, which lies on a separate fault block immediately north of the Wassana field, was also drilled. Lying 12,338ft measured depth was 40ft of new oil. Valuera said this discovery was of particular interest as the wellbore intersected the reservoir significantly downdip of the crest and oil is interpreted to be at the base of the reservoir, with no oil-water contact identified in the well. This indicates there could be further reserves deeper down and laterally in the up-dip portion of the structure.
In the press statement, CEO and president of Valeura Energy Sean Guest said: “I am pleased to announce that our exploration drilling campaign has resulted in three new oil discoveries, one in the Nong Yao D area, and two in the north-east portion of the Wassana concession. As we continue to pursue adding value through growth, near-field exploration forms an important part of sizing up the organic potential of our assets. With successful results like these, the opportunity set before us is continuing to expand.”
