The Southeast Asian exploration scene was buoyed recently with a new discovery, while there was also plenty of hustle on the licensing front.

Australia’s Woodside has hit gas with the Pyi Thit-1 exploration well in Block A-6 in the southern Rakhine Basin offshore Myanmar.

The well intersected a gross gas column of about 65 m (213 ft). A net gas pay interval of about 36 m (118 ft) has been interpreted within the primary target sandstone reservoir.

“The Pyi Thit-1 discovery is another success in an underexplored region,” said Woodside’s CEO Peter Coleman. “This result builds on our understanding of the potential resources in the southern Rakhine Basin and will further inform our consideration of development options.”

The Pyi Thit-1 well was spudded on June 10 and drilled to a total depth of 4,570 m (14,994 ft). Wireline logging was conducted and confirmed the presence of a gas column through pressure measurements and gas sampling.

A drillstem test was subsequently performed across a 29-m (95-ft) section of the reservoir and flowed at about 1.42 MMcm/d (50 MMcf/d) on a 44/64-in. choke over 44 hours with strong reservoir pressure support.

Woodside operates Block A-6 with a 40% stake, while MPRL E&P holds 20% and Total has 40%.

Woodside has had other success in the area with the Shwe Yee Htun-1 well in Block A-6 (January 2016) and the Thalin-1A well in Block AD-7 (February 2016).

Nido’s Philippines Extension

Nido Petroleum has been given approval to extend the suspension on activities on Service Contract 54A (SC 54A) offshore the Philippines.

Block A in SC 54A lies in shallow waters offshore Palawan and holds the undeveloped Yakal and Tindalo oil fields. Nido, as the operator of the SC 54A joint venture, unsuccessfully tried to develop the Tindalo Field in 2010; the project was abandoned in 2011 because it was not considered commercial at that time.

In third-quarter 2014, Nido was granted a three-year moratorium for SC 54A. The moratorium period extended from Aug. 5, 2014, to Aug. 5, 2017, to allow for sufficient time to study the sub-commercial areas and other areas of interest within the licenses and to review commercialization options.

The moratorium deadline has now passed; however, Hague and London Oil (HALO), a 15% partner in SC 54A, said it had been informed by operator that the approval has been received from the Philippines Department of Energy for a further three-year suspension to the license exploration period.

HALO noted that the extension has been approved as a result of force majeure regarding the West Philippines Sea dispute, a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, which is the subject of international arbitration.

The suspension now runs until Aug. 5, 2020, unless the dispute is settled before that time. No activity beyond care and maintenance is expected on the license for the foreseeable future, HALO said.

—Steve Hamlen