Range Gas Project : Central Petroleum contracts drilling rig from Silver City Drilling

Central Petroleum has awarded a contract to Silver City Drilling (NSW) for deploying the latter’s Rig 34 at the Range Gas Project in the Surat Basin in Queensland, Australia.

Under the contract, Rig 34 will drill three appraisal pilot wells at the coal seam gas project, which is being executed under a 50:50 joint venture between Central Petroleum and Incitec Pivot.

The first of the three appraisal wells at the Range Gas Project is anticipated to be spud in early April 2021.

The appraisal stage follows the four-well exploration program in 2019 which is said to have identified a 2C contingent gas resource of 270 PJ in the proven Walloons CSG play.

According to Central Petroleum, the three appraisal pilot wells are designed to produce water to surface and gas to a local flare for providing important subsurface and production data.

The Range Gas Project in Queenslands Surat Basin. Map courtesy of Central Petroleum Limited.

Central Petroleum said that if the appraisal pilot well program is successful, then it could help the joint venture in finalizing a “bankable” full-field development plan in support of a final investment decision (FID) for the Range Gas Project.

The coal seam gas project is located within the greater Walloons fairway, near existing producing CSG fields. Due to this, the Range Gas Project has access to neighboring infrastructure and transmission pipelines.

The Range Gas Project is estimated to produce close to 45 TJ/d.

Leon Devaney – Central Petroleum managing director said: “The Range Gas Project is on path to be one of Central’s most significant growth projects and a real boost for the Company. If successful, Central’s 50% share of the project will result in a step-change in our reserves base and production rates.

“After the challenges of 2020, I am pleased to hit the ground running in 2021 and begin a year in which we are seeking to drill a number of new wells across our portfolio, beginning with Range.”