Real Energy advances towards production phase after striking gas pays at Tamarama wells

Real Energy (ASX: RLE) has completed drilling at its Windorah gas project and is moving towards diagnostic fracture injection testing after striking gas pays at its three Tamarama wells.

Following the diagnostic fracture injection testing stage, a fracture stimulation program is on track to begin in the September quarter, with flow testing to start soon after.

According to Real Energy, drilling has confirmed its geological model for the 1,718 square kilometre project in Queensland’s Cooper-Eromanga Basin.

“We have made considerable progress with the Windorah gas project and are well on track with our strategy to develop the field and move towards the much-anticipated production phase,” Real Energy managing director Scott Brown said.

“The consistent gas-charged sandstone formations encountered in both Tamarama-2 and Tamarama-3 provide us with excellent results, which are consistent with our geological model and align with pre-drilling predictions,” Mr Brown added.

Tamarama-3

Real Energy hit gas pays at Tamarama-3 last week, with preliminary logs and readings indicating a combined net pay of 59m over a 171m Toolachee-Patchawarra section.

The well has now been cased and cemented to a 2,634m depth in preparation for fracture stimulation and flow testing.

Real Energy managing director Scott Brown said the achievement was “an excellent result” that was consistent with the company’s geological model and pre-drilling predictions.

“The well is located 520m from Tamarama-1, and most, if not all gas sandstone units in the Toolachee and Patchawarra formations section in this well could be easily correlated to those in Tamarama-1,” Mr Brown said.

Tamarama-2

At the beginning of May, Real Energy also achieved gas pay at the Tamarama-2 deviated well.

Initial results indicated drilling had encountered net pay of 35m over a 90m logged interval within the Toolachee and Patchawarra formations, similar to the other two wells.

Meanwhile, the first well spudded at the project Tamarama-1 was flowing between 0.5 million cubic feet per day and 2MMcfpd during March.

The project hosts about 13.7 trillion cubic feet in gas resources and Real Energy plans to set up pilot production and sell its gas into the east coast market.

In preparation for pilot production, the company has executed a five-year MOU with Weston Energy to supply around 3 petajoules of gas per annum.

“Windorah gas project is potentially a huge gas resource, based on the prospective resource in place of over 13.7Tcf, and we have a lot of scope to progressively develop Windorah gas project which sits within a proven hydrocarbon province.

“We have over 682,000 acres, making Real Energy’s project one of the largest 100% independently owned positions in the Cooper Basin,” Mr Brown said.

“The net pay encountered in both Tamarama-2 and now Tamarama-3 is very attractive for Real Energy and again reinforces our view that the Windorah gas field holds considerable unlocked value that we are only just starting to tap,” he added.