Australia’s Woodside reports third gas discovery off Rakhine State

Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum last week reported its third natural gas discovery off the coast of Rakhine State since 2016, media reports said.

The discovery was made by the Pyi Thit-1 exploration well in Block A-6 in the Southern Rakhine Basin, the reports said, quoting a Woodside statement issued in Perth on August 7.

Woodside chief executive Mr Peter Coleman said the Pyi Thit-1 discovery was another success in an unexplored region.

“This result builds on our understanding of the potential resources in the Southern Rakhine Basin and will further inform our consideration of development options,” he said in the statement.

It said the Pyi Thit-1 well was spudded on June 10 and drilled to a depth of 4,570 metres, after which wireline logging was conducted that confirmed the presence of a gas column using pressure measurement and gas sampling.

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“A net gas pay interval of approximately 36 metres has been interpreted within the primary target sandstone reservoir,” the statement said.

The gas discovery at Pyi Thit-1 follows previous finds made by Woodside at the Shwe Yee Htun-1 well in Block A-6, and the Thalin-1A well in Block AD-7, announced last year on January 4 and February 12, respectively.

Woodside’s subsidiary Woodside Energy (Myanmar) Pte Ltd holds a 40 percent stake in Block A-6 and is the joint operator of the block and operator of the Pyi Thit-1 well. MPRL E&P Pte Ltd, with a 20 percent interest, is joint operator of Block A-6. Total E&P Myanmar holds the remaining 40 percent interest in the block.

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