ExxonMobil says Jansz field a world-class gas discovery

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

ExxonMobil Corp. said March 24 that its subsidiary, Mobil Exploration and Producing Australia Pty Ltd., confirmed that further exploratory drilling on the Jansz field off the Northwest coast of Western Australia has indicated the presence of a world-class gas resource.

The Jansz-2 well was drilled in late 2002 to determine the extent of the Jansz-1 discovery made in 2000 in the WA-18-R exploration permit, approximately 125 miles off the Western Australia coast of Karratha. The Jansz-2 well was drilled in 4,430 feet of water to a depth of approximately 10,800 feet below sea level.

The Jansz field covers an area in excess of 766 square miles and has an interpreted 1,300-foot gross gas column. Including an extension into the adjacent WA-267-P block, it is estimated that the field contains approximately 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

"ExxonMobil believes the Jansz field to be the largest gas discovery ever in Australian waters, representing around 40 percent of the undeveloped, discovered gas resources in the deepwater Carnarvon Basin," said Jon Thompson, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Co.

"This discovery is a significant addition to ExxonMobil's resource base, which now stands at 72 billion oil-equivalent barrels. During the last 10 years, this base has grown by nearly 30 percent, or more than 16 billion oil-equivalent barrels," Thompson said.

Mobil holds a 50 percent equity interest and is operator of the WA-18-R permit. ChevronTexaco holds the remaining 50 percent equity interest. Equity in the adjacent WA-267-P block is ChevronTexaco 50 percent (operator), ExxonMobil 25 percent, Shell 12.5 percent and BP 12.5 percent.

The joint venture plans to drill an appraisal well (Jansz-3) and perform a production test in mid-2003, to further delineate the resource.