• Exploration drilling campaign preparations advancing with the rig up on the Currajong 1 well location close to completion
• Seismic program to commence in late June/early July as crew becomes available from current Perth Basin contract
• Next Ungani oil lifting and sale scheduled for early July

Drilling program

Preparations for the Buru Energy operated exploration drilling program for conventional oil in the Canning Basin are well underway. The mobilisation of the Ensign 963 rig from the Kyalla location in the Northern Territory to the Currajong location some 80 kilometers east of Broome is now complete with the rig currently being rigged up, and third party inspections underway.

Some necessary specialised equipment being sourced from overseas by Ensign has been delayed, and before the joint venture is able to accept the rig this equipment needs to be installed and tested. The spud date of the well is therefore unlikely to be before 24 June. The well site pad for the second well in the program, Rafael 1, is currently being completed in preparation for the rig move at the completion of the Currajong 1 well.

Seismic survey program

The seismic contractor for the planned extensive seismic surveys being acquired as part of the 2021 exploration program, Terrex Pty Ltd (Terrex), are currently completing surveys for other operators in the Perth Basin. They are expected to be mobilised to the Canning Basin in late June or early July.

Ungani Oil lifting

The next Ungani oil lifting from the Wyndham tank is scheduled for early July. Ungani production is consistently between 900 and 950 barrels per day and a series of routine production enhancements operations to ensure continuing stable production are currently being carried out.

Buru’s Executive Chairman Eric Streitberg commented:
“We are very pleased to have recently finished our successful capital raising and are now fully funded for the 2021 program and future activity.

The rig up of the Ensign 963 drilling rig is going very well and the Ensign crew are very professional and experienced. Although commencement of the drilling program has been slightly delayed, we are being very diligent about making sure that the rig is fully fit for purpose and thoroughly inspected before we accept it and commence drilling.

We are very much looking forward to getting to work on the wells and are very pleased with the current oil price trajectory in regard to our upcoming oil lifting and sale.”

Canning Basin

Buru Energy’s permits lie in the Canning Basin, a geological unit in the southwest Kimberley region some 2,300 kms north of Perth. The area of Buru’s operations is low relief and is dominated by rangelands with large cattle grazing properties covering most of the area.

The Canning Basin is the largest sedimentary basin in Western Australia covering an area of some 530,000 sq kms. Geologically, the basin has similarities with highly productive Palaeozoic aged basins worldwide and is one of the few remaining areas in onshore Australia that is under-explored for petroleum.

Buru Energy holds the dominant acreage position in the Canning Basin. In addition to the significant conventional Ungani Oilfield and the tight wet gas resources of the Laurel Formation, Buru Energy also has an extensive and highly prospective exploration portfolio covering oil and gas prospects that are well defined on both 2D and 3D seismic.

KeyFacts Energy: Buru Energy Australia country profile