Cooper Basin only region outside US commercially producing shale...

Cooper Basin only region outside US commercially producing shale gas


PAUL GARVEY THE AUSTRALIAN DECEMBER 20, 2013 12:00AM

SANTOS is hailing a major breakthrough in its efforts to prove the shale gas possibilities of the Cooper Basin, with its latest shale gas well pointing to a "potentially material" extension of its Moomba North gas field.

The company yesterday said its Moomba-194 shale well was flowing gas at a rate of three million standard cubic feet per day, largely replicating the results from its maiden Moomba-191 shale well last year.

Gas from the well will be connected to Santos's nearby infrastructure, allowing it to be sold into the domestic gas market in the near term.

The production from the two wells, Santos said, has established the Cooper Basin as the only region outside of the US that is currently commercially producing shale gas.

Santos vice-president for Eastern Australia, James Baulderstone, said the well proved the unconventional gas potential of the Cooper Basin.

"It shows it's not just a one-hit-wonder, and that there's much more to come," Mr Baulderstone said.

The next challenge, he said, would be establishing just how big the shale gas resources and reserves in the basin were, and how quickly they could be developed. "It's a big tick in the box for Australian unconventional gas production," he said.

"This is why a large number of international experts see the Cooper Basin as the pre-eminent shale resource outside the US."

Recent rises in gas prices on the east coast meant that the well would be commercially viable, he said, despite the gas not containing significant volumes of higher value liquids like oil and condensate.

"It will take a bit of time and a bit more money to unlock it, but at these sorts of rates it puts you right there with something that's really quite exciting," Mr Baulderstone said.