Australian-based AWE Ltd. has commenced flow testing of its Waitsia-3 well to further appraise the conventional Waitsia gas discovery, the company said on Oct. 23.

The testing program is designed to determine well deliverability from the southern extent of the Waitsia field and to collect gas samples for compositional analysis. The zone being flow tested is the Kingia Sandstone, where a 42 m (67 km) interval—3,248 m (5227 km) to 3,290 m (5294 km) measured depth below rotary table—has been perforated.

Well clean-up operations commenced Oct. 18. At the end of the cleanup period, on Oct. 19, the well flowed gas at an instantaneous maximum rate of 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) and an average of 49.5 MMscf/d on an 80/64 inch choke at about 1,929 pounds per square inch gauge flowing well head pressure over a 2.6 hour period.

“This is another extremely positive result and demonstrates once more the outstanding conventional reservoir properties of the Waitsia field. This result also provides further confidence in the field deliverability as we move toward a final investment decision for stage 2 of the Waitsia gas project,” David Biggs, AWE’s CEO and Managing Director, said.

The Waitsia-3 well will now be shut in for a brief pressure build-up survey prior to a series of flow tests at various choke settings, rates and well head pressures. Following the Waitsia-3 flow test, AWE will also test the Waitsia-2 and Waitsia-4 wells. The testing program is expected to be completed by the end of November 2017.

Waitsia-3 is located approximately 19.8 km (about 12 miles) east-south-east of Dongara, Western Australia, and 10.8 km (about 7 miles) south of Waitsia-1.