Australian oil and gas producer Santos reported Friday that gas has been found at the Bassett West-1 exploration well in the Browse Basin offshore Western Australia.
Bassett West -1, located on production license WA-408-P some 300 miles north-northeast of the town of Broome in a water depth of 1,210 feet, was drilled to a total depth of 17,190 feet. Wireline logging and sampling has confirmed 25 feet of gas pay in Jurassic sandstones on the western flank of the large Bassett structure.
Commenting on the discovery Santos Head of Exploration Bill Ovenden said in a company statement that he was encouraged by the presence of gas with condensate and the absence of a water leg or gas-water contact.
Ovenden added:
"Further work is required to fully understand the overall resource picture for the Bassett feature. This includes greater clarity on the gas composition and the extent of this gas-bearing interval and additional potential reservoir segments across this large regional structural high."
The operator of the WA-408-P license is Total E&P Australia, which has a 50-percent interest. Santos and Murphy Oil Corporation hold 30 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Santos confirmed that the next well in the drilling program, Dufresne-1, will be drilled once Bassett West-1 has been plugged and abandoned.
