Woodside Petroleum finds more gas off Myanmar

Woodside Petroleum finds more gas off Myanmar

Woodside Petroleum has notched up a third gas discovery off the coast of
Myanmar, supporting its ambitions to fast-track the development of a
commercial project to supply either the local market or to be piped to
Thailand or China.

The Pyi Thit-1 well, which was drilled to a total depth of more than 4.5
kilometres, lies close to a discovery made early last year in the southern
part of Woodside's extensive acreage in the Rakhine Basin.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said it "builds on our understanding
of the potential resources in the Southern Rakhine Basin and will inform our
consideration of development options".

Analysts mostly remain cautious about the potential for Woodside's emerging
position in Myanmar as they await more detail on how the gas may be
developed and how profitable it may be. At Woodside's investor briefing in
May, the Myanmar business was included in the "Horizon Two" list of projects
that would start delivering value for the company in 2022-2026, later than
some analysts had anticipated.

Woodside, the largest acreage holder in Myanmar, has outlined a potential
plan to develop gas in its "Southern hub" to supply either the local market
or for piping to Thailand. It said gas could be developed by connecting into
the existing Yadana platform, operated by Total, or as a standalone project.

The French oil major Total also owns a stake in the A-6 block holding Pyi
Thit-1, as does Myanmar's MPRL E&P.

Further exploration

The well found gas over a depth of about 65 metres, of which about 36 metres
was classified as "net pay", signalling it could yield commercial flows. The
gas flowed at a rate of about 50 million cubic feet a day in a test over
part of the reservoir.

The nearby Shwe Yee Htun-1 discovery, made in January 2016, found 15 metres
of "net gas pay", and is estimated to hold about 900 billion cubic feet of
gas.

Meanwhile, Woodside's Senegal exploration venture has also had a success,
finding oil at the SNE North-1 well drilled at the Sirius prospect. Junior
partner FAR Ltd, which is disputing Woodside's entry into the venture, said
the result has "positive implications" for extending the size of the field
to the north.

FAR managing director Cath Norman described the find as "another significant
result" and said an updated assessment of the size of the SNE field would be
released in the coming weeks.

Shares in Woodside, which owns 40 per cent of Block A-6, closed up 38¢ to
$29.42.

Woodside has flagged a further two exploration wells in Myanmar that are due
to start drilling this quarter.

Its "Northern hub" gas resources could be suitable for piping to China
through existing infrastructure, Woodside has said.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.afr.com/business/energy/gas/woodside-petroleum-finds-more-gas-off
-myanmar-20170807-gxqt4f

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com