Santos plans25 Sep 2019 13:20
Santos has prepared and submitted this EMP for the proposed Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation (HFS) to be conducted through 2019-2020 at the Tanumbirini 1, Tanumbirini 2H and Inacumba 1/1H well locations.
Description of the Activity
Following the completion of the 2019 well drilling operations, the operator is seeking approval to conduct a program of hydraulic fracture stimulations and appraisal (production) tests of the Velkerri Formation in the Tanumbirini 1, Tanumbirini 2H and Inacumba 1H wells. The Hydraulic Fracturing Program will commence only after a successful drilling and well integrity assessment is complete for each individual well. The Drilling and Civil works required to prepare for the Hydraulic Fracturing Program, including the upgrading of access tracks and creation of infrastructure at the leasepad, are covered in separate EMPs which have been submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The only additional surface disturbance required for this EMP will be drilling of approximately 50 shallow holes for surface tiltmeter installation around each wellsite and surface site preparation for installation of passive seismic monitoring equipment.
The HFS program is anticipated to commence in approximately October 2019 and conclude in approximately November 2019. The HFS program will be followed by production testing, for which we are seeking approval for 365 days (post commencement of production testing) and anticipate that the testing program will run between 90 and 365 days.
HFS is not part of the drilling process but is a completion technique applied after the well is drilled. The intent of HFS is to place a highly conductive channel (sand size proppant) into the reservoir to increase the flow capacity of the well and increase the production of gas. The process involves the injection of a water based fluid system at high pressure into a cased wellbore over a number of intervals or stages along the reservoir interval(s) intersected by a well. This technique is typically used in low permeability reservoirs that cannot sustain economic production, such as shale. It is a process that has been used in the oil and gas industry since 1947 and has been successfully used on wells in the Cooper Basin for nearly 50 years and is currently performed in many basins around Australia, including the Amadeus Basin in the Northern Territory.
On completion of production testing, the wells will either be suspended for future re-entry, suspended on build-up, or decommissioned with permanent cement plugs. For suspended wells, wellbore barriers will be put in place and will be monitored through a Well Integrity Monitoring Plan; and the well and well-pad will be monitored and maintained. At the completion of operations all surface infrastructure will be removed (excluding the well head).
https://denr.nt.gov.au/onshore-gas/environment-management-plan/review-emp/santos-mcarthur-basin-hydraulic-fracturing-program-2019-ep161
Sign In
Follow the stocks
