ExxonMobil identifies gas at Muruk 1 well in PNG

ExxonMobil has confirmed gas discovery from the Muruk 1 sidetrack 3 well in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) North Highlands, as part of a production well test.

Located 21km north-west of the Hides gas field, the well successfully flowed gas at a rate of 16 million standard cubic feet per day.

The company noted that the well rate was constrained by test facilities, which limited tests to short flow and build up periods.

ExxonMobil exploration company president Steve Greenlee said: “We are encouraged by these well test results and will integrate them into the ongoing resource evaluation work and potential appraisal programme in 2018.

“The success at Muruk adds to a growing resource base in PNG, through focused exploration and ExxonMobil’s recent acquisition of InterOil.

“These high-quality resources position the PNG LNG project for a multiple-train expansion that will continue to provide a highly competitive cost of supply.”

Hydrocarbon samples were collected during the production well test, which confirmed Muruk as a potentially significant new discovery close to existing PNG LNG infrastructure.

Oil Search is the well operator and began drilling the Muruk 1 well in November last year.

The well lies in petroleum prospecting licence 402, which covers 126,000 acres in the PNG.

ExxonMobil owns a 42.5% interest in the licence. Other stakeholders include Oil Search (37.5%) and Barracuda (20%).