Empire hits record drill interval at Beetaloo gas well

ASX-listed Empire Energy Group has shattered another record in the Beetaloo sub-basin with a 2632m horizontal section of its Carpentaria-3H gas well in the Northern Territory cementing itself as the longest well section drilled in the zone to date. The company says over 90 per cent of its latest interval penetrated the hydrocarbon-rich Velkerri-B shale formation where strong gas shows were observed.

The record-breaking horizontal section in Carpentaria-3H eclipses the length of the company’s previous efforts with its Carpentaria-2H well by 150m.

Carpentaria-3H is now being prepared for production testing with installation of production casing due imminently.

Notably, Empire says the drilling of Carpentaria-3H was completed in just 34 days, including 12 days for the horizontal section, representing a significant leap in efficiency in terms of cost and time over its previously completed Carpentaria-2 and 2H wells.

The company envisions Carpentaria-3H to cost about $11 million to drill, case, cement and subsequently suspend ahead of well stimulation or “fracking”.

The figure represents a $100,000 improvement over the Carpentaria-2H that also took about 39 days to complete despite a shorter horizontal well section of 1345m.

Management believes its recent efforts have cemented its status as the “undisputed cost leader” in the basin and says its confident the company can continue to drive efficiencies in future holes.

Empires’ Carpentaria-2, 2H and 3H wells have been launched from the same drill pad, however they fork in different directions at depth. The bores are aimed at testing the deliverability of the site’s Velkerri-B shales and fits with the company’s rapid commercialisation strategy.

As part of the plan the company will look to set up a multi-armed gas play through its Carpentaria wells.

Carpentaria-2H is currently undergoing pressure build-up analysis following productive extended production testing to optimise future development planning.

Empire argues the immense success of Carpentaria-2H’s testing program was underlined by its fracking of 21 stages - a record in the Beetaloo sub-basin.

Other milestones from Carpentaria-2H include the delivery of a peak flow rate of 11 million cubic feet of gas per day with an initial production rate of 2.4 million cubic feet over a 30-day cycle.

Following test work at Carpentaria-3H the company plans to commence activities on a nearby probe of the yet-to-be drilled Carpentaria-4V gas well.

Empire Energy Group Managing Director, Alex Underwood said:“The Empire team believes that our shallower acreage provides a development cost advantage. This has been reinforced by our Carpentaria-3H horizontal well that was drilled for less than a third of the cost of the Maverick-1V vertical well recently drilled in the deepest part of the basin.”

Empire’s efforts to drive up efficiencies in the Beetaloo have been rewarded through the delivery of a $7.8 million refundable tax offset courtesy of the Australian Government’s Research and Development Tax Incentive Scheme which compliments its solid cash position of $33.5 million.

The Northern Territory government says The renowned zone houses up to 500 trillion cubic feet of gas given Empire plenty of room to grow with ongoing exploration.

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