Bhp Finds Extension To Timor Oilfield

The Age

Saturday December 28, 1991

BARRY FitzGERALD

BHP Petroleum and its partners have found a northern extension to their Jabiru oilfield in the Timor Sea.

BHP Petroleum said yesterday that the Jabiru 12 well had reached a depth of 1776 metres after penetrating a six-metre (net) oil column between 1639 and 1649 metres.

The well is on the northern end of the Jabiru field and was designed to test a possible extension of the 50,000-barrel-a-day productive zone in that direction.

The field has been in production since August 1986 using a floating production facility. When developed, the field was estimated to contain just 13 million barrels of oil.

BHP Petroleum, a 50 per cent partner and operator of the field, did not comment yesterday on what the result from Jabiru 12 meant to the reserve estimate.

Nevertheless, analysts said the result was good news and would help remove some of the gloom caused by the disappointing round of exploration this year in the Timor Sea.

Meanwhile, CRA reported that its Mason 1 well in the onshore Northern Territory permit EP18 had been plugged until possible investigation. The well is part of the group's search for so-called old oil.

© 1991 The Age

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