Petsec plans development of Gulf gas wells

Australian independent Petsec Energy Ltd. is going to develop its Main Pass 19 gas discovery, the company announced May 24, after finding significant pay in two wells in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Petsec, whose main interests are in the Gulf, says the Main Pass 19 No. 2 reached total depth on May 24, hitting seven hydrocarbon bearing sands totaling about 120 feet of net pay. The Main Pass No. 1, drilled earlier in May, showed essentially the same results.

A third well in the field will be spud once production casing is set in the No. 2 well, the company said. Casing was already run in the No. 1 well.

The company has acquired an existing platform and jacket and is targeting the fourth quarter of this year for first production, according to Terry Fern, the company’s executive chairman.

The Main Pass 19 field is about 80 miles southeast of New Orleans. The first two wells were in water 38 feet deep and were drilled to a total depth of more than 7,700 feet.

The company says mapped potential of the field is expected to be in the range of 12 billion to 15 billion cubic feet. But Fern also said results from the Number 1 well “exceeded our pre-drill expectations.”

—Allen Baker