Vintage Energy starts flow testing Odin gas well
Vintage Energy is eyeing first production from its Vali gas discovery and flow-testing the Nangwarry carbon dioxide discovery as early as next year.
Oil and gas explorer Vintage Energy (ASX: VEN) has begun flow testing its Odin-1 exploration well in the Cooper Basin to assess its potential to deliver conventional gas from the Toolachee and Epsilon formations.
The Odin-1 well was drilled in May and discovered extensive gas reservoirs in multiple formations, principally in the primary target Toolachee and Patchawarra formations and the basal Epsilon formation. A wireline program confirmed these formations as gas pay zones that have potential for commercial gas production with high-quality gas samples recovered from all zones.
The primary objectives of flow testing are to assess gas flow rates from the Toolachee and Epsilon formations, provide gas and liquid samples and determine production rates from individual sands. Bottom hole pressure data will also be obtained to analyse the average reservoir properties.
The data is intended to help determine the best reservoir to target for initial production – whether that be Toolachee, Epsilon, Patchawarra, or a combination of all three.
Positive test results will also assist the next steps in the field commercialisation process and enable the conversion of gas contingent resources to reserves.
Last month, Vintage revealed a 190% increase to the material gas resource at Odin, which is now independently certified to hold gross 2C contingent resources of 36.4 billion cubic feet of gas.
Initial focus on Toolachee and Epsilon formations
According to Vintage, the Toolachee and Epsilon formations are interpreted to be more productive in terms of reservoir quality when compared with the deeper Patchawarra formation (which typically requires fracture stimulation) and a successful flow test will validate the company’s approach to perforate these formations first.
The company said it would likely fracture stimulate the Patchawarra formation “later in the well’s life” to access additional gas volumes, with the choice to defer this work expected to “substantially” reduce initial capex and increase value over the early life of the field by focusing on the potentially higher quality shallower sandstones.
Cooper Basin joint venture
Vintage operates the Odin field with a 42.5% interest, sharing the project with Metgasco (ASX: MEL, 21.25%) and private companies Bridgeport (21.25%) and Impress (15%).
The Odin-1 well lies close to the South Australian border to Queensland, about 5km northeast of the Beckler and Bow Permian gas fields and about 6km to the west of the joint venture’s Vali field (in Queensland).
Meanwhile at Vali, Vintage has commenced detailed engineering for the connection of the gas field to the South Australian Cooper Basin Joint Venture (SACBJV) infrastructure – a crucial step towards first production and cash flow for the joint venture.