Energy

Real Energy kicks off Windorah well stimulations this week

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By Danica Cullinane - 

Real Energy has mobilised equipment to site and expects to commence stimulation of the Tamarama-3 well in the next few days.

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Cooper Basin-focused oil and gas explorer Real Energy (ASX: RLE) is about to kick off a multi-stage fracture stimulation of two wells at its Windorah gas project in Queensland this week.

The company today reported that equipment has been mobilised to site and the stimulation of the first well in the program, Tamarama-3, is expected to start in the “next few days”.

The equipment includes the drilling rig Ensign Rig 964, which is now on location at Real Energy’s 100%-owned exploration permit ATP 927P.

The stimulation operations are being undertaken by Halliburton Australia, the Australian division of the global fracking giant.

It is expected to take about one week for Tamarama-3 to be stimulated in four planned stages. The operations will target the Toolachee-Patchawarra formation sections at depths below 2300m true vertical depth.

Following this, operations will move to the second well in the program, Tamarama-2.

Meaningful progress and results will be reported as it comes to hand, Real Energy stated.

The two wells are located to the west (Tamarama-3) and south-east (Tamarama-2) of the first well to be drilled on the prospect, Tamarama-1. This well has been flowing gas since 2016.

This latest fracking program is intended to prove commercial gas flow and in the event of success, the company will look to establish pilot production and connect flow lines so that sales gas can be supplied to Australia’s east coast gas market.

The wells are incorporating new well designs that enable enhanced productivity through an improved alignment between the hydraulic fracture and the wellbore, referred to as “alignment flow technology”.

This technology is the result of extensive and ongoing research by Professor Raymond Johnson Jr at the University of Queensland aimed at improving hydraulic fracturing designs in this particular area of the Cooper Basin.

According to Prof Johnson Jr’s research, an optimised hydraulic fracture and enhanced flow should be achievable by better aligning the wellbore, perforations and the hydraulic fracture with the prevailing stress direction.

The Windorah gas project has been estimated to hold prospective resources of about 13.7 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place.