Buru Energy hits oil at Adoxa-1 in WA’s Canning Basin
Buru Energy has encountered “good to excellent” oil shows while drilling its Adoxa-1 exploration well in northwestern WA.
Oil and gas explorer Buru Energy (ASX: BRU) has found promising signs of oil while drilling its Adoxa-1 exploration well on the Yakka Munga prospect in Western Australia’s onshore Canning Basin.
The company today announced the probe, which has been drilled to a current depth of 1,609m in the primary objective Reeves formation, encountered “good to excellent” oil shows in cuttings samples with live oil observed over the shakers at surface.
According to Buru, the oil shows are interpreted to be a good quality sand section at a measured depth of 1,443m, with the best shows noted over an approximate 10m interval.
In addition, other less well-developed oil shows were found in cuttings samples at measured depths of 970m and 1,565m, the company reported.
It said the significance of these shows would be evaluated with wireline logs once the well reaches its total planned depth of 2,200m.
Yukka Munga prospect
Adoxa-1 lies within exploration permit EP428, about 120km east of Broome in northwestern WA and about 20km northeast of Buru’s producing Ungani oilfield.
The well will test the greater Yukka Munga regional structure on the permit, but in keeping with naming prospects after local Kimberley flora, Buru has named it after the grey-whorled wattle plant ‘Acacia Adoxa’.
Buru holds a 50% operating interest in the well, with the other half held by Roc Oil, a subsidiary of Chinese investment group Fosun.
Buru executive chairman Eric Streitberg said the oil shows were “very encouraging” news for the first exploration well in the company’s 2019 drilling program.
“It demonstrates that we are in a regionally extensive petroleum system in the Reeves formation with the potential for an oil accumulation in this first good sand under the main sealing unit,” he said.
“There are also a number of other well defined Reeves targets in the existing 3D seismic grid that have been upgraded by what we have seen so far in this well,” Mr Streitberg added.
Buru believes additional potential reservoir targets exist between the probe’s current depth and the total proposed depth.
These targets, including the Anderson formation, are expected to be encountered during the next week.
“We are looking forward to seeing the next potential reservoir sands as we drill through the complete Reeves section and into the interpreted Anderson and deeper formations,” Mr Streitberg said.