UPDATE: Karoon Gas JV To Drill At Least 3 More Wells
September 30 2009 - 1:33AM
Dow Jones News
Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (KAR.AU) said Wednesday it will drill
another three wells in its Browse Basin joint venture with
ConocoPhillips (COP) and has an option to drill another four,
possibly bringing the total number of wells drilled to nine.
The joint venture made a promising gas discovery with the first
well, Poseidon-1 but disappointed with the second, Kontiki-1.
The third well in the campaign, Poseidon-2, will be an appraisal
well to evaluate the significance of the initial Poseidon
discovery.
A spokesman for Karoon said drilling on Poseidon-2 is expected
to occur within the next 10 days.
A 3D seismic survey of the greater Poseidon area will start in
early October, Karoon said in a statement.
Two more exploration wells, Lion-1 and Kronos-1, will follow
Poseidon-2.
If the company decides to drill another four wells, it may have
to come back to investors for capital after raising A$173 million
from a placement and share purchase plan.
A decision to drill more wells could depend on the results of
Poseidon-2, Lion-1 and Kronos-1, as exploration success could
justify drilling more appraisal wells.
-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2957;
ross.kelly@dowjones.com