Buru Energy spuds Olympic 1 exploration well in Western Australia

PERTH, Western Australia -- Buru Energy has commenced its 2015 exploration drilling program with the spudding of the Olympic 1 conventional oil well, southeast of Broome in Western Australia.

The well, which is being drilled with DDH1 Rig 31, has a programmed total depth of 1,450 m and is expected to take some 30 days to drill.

The Olympic 1 well is located in exploration permit EP 473 and the drilling of the well will satisfy the Year 4 work commitment on that permit. The well is situated approximately 60 km to the southeast of Broome and some 22 km inland from the Great Northern Highway.

Olympic 1 is the second well to be drilled as part of the Apache Onshore Holdings farm-out announced in November 2013. The cost of the well will be fully funded by Apache under the terms of the farmout, which includes a commitment by Apache to fund a $25-million exploration program on EP 390, 438, 471 and 473.

The primary objective of the Olympic 1 well is conventional oil reservoirs in the Willara Formation, with secondary objectives in the underlying Nambeet Formation.

Buru Energy and Mitsubishi Corporation both have a 25% equity interest in the well and in EP 473 with Apache having the remaining 50% equity interest.

Buru Energy’s Executive Chairman, Eric Streitberg, said, “This is the second well in the Coastal Permits farmout funded by Apache and will test a well defined prospect on the Broome Shelf. This style of prospect has seen few valid tests and will provide very valuable data on the further prospectivity of the area.

The second well in the exploration program for this year will be drilled by Atlas Rig 2 and will test a prospect on the Ungani trend. This second well is planned to be spudded at about the same time as the Olympic 1 well is completed. The Olympic 1 well is the first of a continuous drilling program for the remainder of the 2015 dry season.”