Australia firm reconsiders Cebu exploration well

Australian firm Gas2Grid Ltd. has temporarily shelved plans to drill its third exploration well called Ilang-1 in Cebu, after it decided to abandon the two exploration wells it previously drilled late last year.

In its report, Gas2Grid said that the results of the drilling activities for the two abandoned wells—Jacob-1 and Gumamela-1—showed an increase in the risk of not finding any sandstone reservoir development within the Ilang-1 block, which is covered by Service Contract 44.

“A decision has been made to undertake a detailed technical study incorporating the recently acquired results in order to better determine the technical robustness and risk profile of the Ilang prospect. A decision will be made whether to drill Ilang-1 after this work has been completed,” the company reported.

The three prospects—Jacob, Gumamela and Ilang—were earlier estimated to be of varying sizes and resource potential, with Jacob-1 alone said to have a potential of up to 50 million barrels in recoverable oil.

Gas2Grid, which has a 100-percent stake in SC 44, has until Jan. 28, 2014 to complete the three-well drilling program, but the company previously said that it would complete it earlier than planned.

Also, Gas2Grid reported that work on Malolos-1 began in December last year, but activities are currently being delayed due to rig repairs. The company decided to use Rig 2 rather than Rig 1 to complete the workover and flow testing for Malolos-1.