Si That Gasfield Thailand

Si That Gas Discovery District: Block L13/48

This interesting gas exploration and appraisal district has had a multi-licensee history but only now is its true gas potential being recognised. In 1983, Esso drilled the Si That-1 exploration well and tested traces of gas with water from three DSTs in the thick Pha Nok Khao carbonates. In 1998, Cairn Energy drilled Si That -2 and encountered significant gas that flowed at 1.25MMCFD on test. Then in 2006, a consortium of APICO LLC (60%) and Pearl Oil (40%) acquired the Block L13/48 licence covering some 3,934km2. This group proceeded to acquire 2-D semi-detailed seimic over the Si That feature in late 2007 and are due to drill an appraisal well this 3Q 2009 on the newly mapped structure.   Salamander Energy (16.3% holder)recently reported that Si That-3 appraisal well had been producing a combination of gas and formation water at varying rates since reaching a total depth of 2775.6m.  The current conventional prospect mapping suggests that the Si That structure could contain approximately 1.4 TCF of gas in place.  

RSDD-H observations of this district support such expectations and more, as illustrated in the IPD image below. Key points of these observations are that:

a) the Si That anomaly is very strong and very large, measuring approximately 150km2 or 15kms E-W by 10 kms N-S

b) None of the Si That wells locate optimally in the RSDD-H defined "trap":  Si That - 1 is effectively off-anomaly to the NE, Si That-2 is on the southern edge (but high on seismic structure) and the new appraisal location for Si That-3 is on the northern edge (but high on seismic mapping). The core of the trap area locates centrally between these three wells - an assessment not dissimilar to that observed in Coastal Energy's (36.1% equity holder in APICO) latest structural map of the discovery area as presented on their website in July 2009

c) A new untested prospect area (Si That East) exists along strike from the main Si That discovery. This looks real, is somewhat smaller, but has a number of intensely anomalous "cores". It seems likely that this area will, with time prove up a significant field extension or a number of smaller satellite discoveries and thus increase the total gas reserves of the "Greater Si That" gasfield district. 

 In summary, the APICO /Pearl Oil group appear to have a substanital gas play opportunity in this licence block that should, with time and investment, become a material commercial asset.

This particular RSDD-H example suggests more generally that RSDD-H surveying will be effective across the Khorat Plateau region of onshore Thailand and should offer early Prospect Book development and exploration risk reduction to licence holders playing this petroleum province ......... at a fraction of the cost of conventional area-wide seismic programs and uni-dimensional progression of prospect/lead rankings ahead of drilling........... an accelerated, lower cost, lower risk, exploration game!