Next well eyed in Philippines Sandakan basin
A group led by ExxonMobil Corp.’s Philippines
affiliate plans to drill a second Sandakan basin deepwater exploration
well in Philippine waters off Borneo Island after its first well
appears to be a hydrocarbon discovery of unspecified proportion.
Having
drilled the first well, Dabakan-1, to more than 16,000 ft in late 2009,
the group is not certain of the hydrocarbon type but plans to proceed
with the second well, said Scott Spradlin, ExxonMobil operations
manager.
Dabakan-1, in 5,974 ft of water, was drilled by the
Seadrill West Aquarius semisubmersible 40 miles off Mapun Island, part
of the Philippine South Sulu Sea Province of Tawi Tawi (OGJ Online,
Jan. 7, 2009). The well is in Service Contract 56, which covers 2.1
million acres.
The frontier SC 56 block lies 175 miles east of
oil fields off Sabah, Malaysia, 225 miles north of onshore oil fields
in Indonesia’s Tarakan basin, and more than 300 miles south of oil and
gas fields off Northwest Palawan Island, Philippines.
Interests
in SC 56 are ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Philippines BV
50%, and Mitra Energy (Philippines SC-56) Ltd. and BHP Billiton
International Exploration Pty. Ltd., 25% each.