Santos to sidetrack Fletcher-3

WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA: At the conclusion of logging operations in well Fletcher-3, Santos Ltd. will plug the well and sidetrack it around 1,640 feet (500 m) to the northwest to test the Legendre Formation in a separate fault compartment of the greater Fletcher High.

The Fletcher field is in license WA-191-P offshore Western Australia in 499 feet (152 m) of water. The sidetracked well will be designated as Fletcher-4 since it will, in effect, be testing a new geological objective. It will enable the WA-191-P joint venture to make an earlier decision on the potential commerciality of the Fletcher field. The sidetracking operations are expected to take about a week, after which the Fletcher-3 and Fletcher-4 well bores will be plugged and abandoned, and the rig, semisubmersible Songa Mercur, will be released. Fletcher-3 was designed to appraise the Fletcher-1 and Fletcher-2 oil discovery, initially drilled in July/August 2007. It intersected an approximately 66-foot (20-m) thick gross interval of oil-bearing Legendre Formation sands. Following a temporary evacuation due to Cyclone Billy entering the area, the rig was re-manned on Dec. 27 and wireline logging recommenced. The discovery lies at the northern end of the Dampier Sub-Basin, around 11 miles (17 km) east of Santos' producing facilities at the Mutineer and Exeter fields. Santos operates WA-191-P with 33.4 percent interest. Partners are Kufpec Australia Pty Ltd. with 33.4 percent interest, Nippon Oil Exploration (Dampier) Pty Ltd. with 25 percent and Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd. with 8.2 percent. Nippon Oil opted not to participate in the Fletcher-3 well, but its interest in the well was picked up by the other partners.
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