Central Petroleum Limited (“Central”) (ASX:CTP) advises that the new West Mereenie 29
(WM29) well has been tied-in and commenced flowing to sales on 20 January 2025.
Following a predetermined ramp up program, a production rate test achieved ~7 TJ/d (100%
JV) over a 2-hour period. Production from WM29 will be limited to 6 TJ/d which is the
capacity limit of the wellhead skid. WM29 production should increase aggregate Mereenie
sales gas capacity to at least 30 TJ/d, at which point we will have already achieved the
primary objective of the two well drilling program.
WM29’s initial production rate is double the pre-drill expectation of 3 TJ/d and significantly
higher than the 4 TJ/d initial production rate achieved by the successful WM28 well drilled in
2021. We believe this outstanding result is attributable to our strategy to maximise
production rate potential by applying updated air drilling techniques in a highly deviated well
bore at crestal locations.
The second well of the drilling program, West Mereenie 30 (WM30), is on track and currently
at a depth of circa 585 metres. We anticipate drilling to be completed over the next month,
with tie-in and commencement of sales from WM30 in early March, further increasing
Mereenie sales capacity at that time.
The additional production from WM29 can be sold under the recently announced Northern
Territory Government Gas Sale Agreement as firm gas (up to 6 TJ/d), with gas from WM30
targeting sales into an NT gas market that needs additional gas supply.
Comments from the CEO
“We are very pleased with the results from West Mereenie 29. We remain within budget and
schedule, with production and revenues from WM29 commencing more than a month before
our initial target. The production rate has also significantly exceeded our expectations, easily
producing at a rate that is double our pre-drill expectation of 3 TJ/d. These strong results
give us confidence in our modified drilling and completion approach, improving our outlook
for WM30 as well as future development well programs at Mereenie.
From a market perspective, timing couldn’t be better. Blacktip is currently not producing, so
the NT market needs as much gas as possible and the WM29 result highlights the strength
and reliability of on-shore production from the Amadeus Basin”, said Central’s Managing
Director and CEO, Leon Devaney.
The WM29 well was drilled and connected under a joint venture between Central Petroleum
(25% interest), Echelon Resources Ltd (ASX:ECH) (42.5% interest), Cue Energy Resources
Limited (ASX:CUE) (7.5% interest), and Horizon Oil Limited (ASX: HZN) (25% interest).