Buru strikes oil in the Canning Basin

Buru Energy has received an early sign of success at its highly-prospective Adoxa-1 conventional oil exploration well in the Canning Basin, Western Australia, after good to excellent oil shows were observed in the primary objective Reeves Formation.

The best oil shows were noted over an interval of about 10m while live oil was observed at the surface in what the company believes to be a good quality sand section at a measured depth of 1,443m.

Other less well-developed oil shows were also observed in cuttings samples of interpreted good quality sands at 970m and 1,565m measured depth.

Management said the current interpretation of seismic data indicates that there are additional potential reservoir targets between the current well depth of 1,609m and the planned total depth of 2,200m.

These targets, which include the secondary Anderson Formation conventional oil objective, are expected to be encountered during the coming week.

Buru is currently completing the bit trip before drilling ahead to total depth following which wireline logs will be run to evaluate the oil shows.

Managing Director Eric Streitberg said: “This is very encouraging news for our first exploration well in this year’s 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.”

“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.”

Chinese company Roc Oil is earning in exploration permits EP 428, where Adoxa-1 is located, EP 391 and EP 436 by paying for $20m of a $25m exploration program with up to four wells.

While the partners have agreed that Adoxa-1 will not be one of these four wells, Roc will still pay for its 50% share of costs on a separate basis.

Adoxa-1 may be followed by the Rafael-1 exploration well that targets a large, robust structural closure mapped on good quality 2D seismic data with conventional oil targets.

The final well proposal for Rafael-1 is currently being reviewed by the joint venture partners to determine if Roc will participate in the well.