Norwest Energy hit by delay
JETT RINK: Australian-based Norwest Energy successfully drilled the Arrowsmith‐2 well in June 2011 as a proof of concept well to assess the shale gas / tight gas potential of the EP413 permit area.
The company is currently in the process of conducting an evaluation program on the EP413 permit in the Northern Perth Basin.
In order to complete this assessment, Norwest will be running a hydraulic fracture stimulation program on Arrowsmith-2.
The original start date of 1 September for the hydraulic stimulation program has had to be deferred however, due to a third party referral of this program to the Environmental Protection Authority.
Norwest now has to wait until the EPA has made a decision on whether or not to carry out an assessment of the program.
Final approval is to be provided by the Department of Mines and Petroleum and Norwest is confident that all supporting documentation required by the DMP will demonstrate full compliance to all necessary regulations and guidelines.
The company said it is unable to say how long this overall process will take, however it suggested it could be three months or more before it is concluded.
To date, Norwest said it considers the Arrowsmith‐2 evaluation program to be a success, with core and logging results clearly indicating that all four targets contain significant gas in place, however these still require stimulation for full evaluation.
“Despite this delay we remain positive that the program will proceed,” Norwest Energy chief executive officer Peter Munachen said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“The Arrowsmith project is breaking new ground and as a pioneer there will always be hurdles to overcome.
“After all it was just over a year ago that this shale gas play was merely a thought, and is already on the verge of becoming a reality.
“A delay of circa three months will be considered a thing of the past when, as we expect, the shale gas play in the Basin gets going, with the potential to deliver significant quantities of much‐needed gas to the Western Australian domestic market.
“We just need to be patient. In the meantime Norwest will continue to work closely with both regulatory bodies to ensure this matter is dealt with in a comprehensive and timely manner.”