Advance Energy reports further progress on Buffalo-10 drilling

Advance Energy updated the market on the Buffalo-10 well being drilled offshore Timor-Leste on Thursday, reporting that operator Carnarvon Petroleum Timor had advised that, since its last announcement on 31 December, the conductor had been installed and cemented in place, and the 17-and-a-half inch hole had been drilled down to the planned section total depth of about 804 metres.

The AIM-traded firm said the rig was now setting and cementing the 13-and-three-eighths inch casing and installing the wellhead, before drilling ahead in the 12-and-a-quarter inch hole section to around 2,800 metres, and then setting the nine-and-five-eighths inch casing, after which the target Elang reservoir interval would be drilled and logged.

It said no hydrocarbons were expected to be intersected in the 12-and-a-quarter inch hole section of the well.

“The Buffalo-10 well is being drilled offshore Timor-Leste within the TL- SO T19-14 production sharing contract in a water depth of approximately 30 metres with a target depth of approximately 3,500 metres,” the Advance Energy board said in its statement.

“The well is being drilled to test for the presence of commercial quantities of high-quality light oil that is expected to lead to the early re-development of the Buffalo field.”

At 1158 GMT, shares in Advance Energy were down 4.41% at 3.63p.