Timor Resources to drill five wells ...

Private Queensland company Timor Resources plans to drill five onshore wells in East Timor in 2020, the first such program in the country in nearly 50 years. The last program was in 1972.

Timor Resources secured the rights to explore and develop about 2,000 sq km of underexplored onshore acreage on the country’s south coast in 2017.

The company is in joint venture with East Timor national oil company Timor Gap EP and holds two production-sharing contracts structured to maximize early cash flows.

Timor Resources has contracted Eastern Drilling Services to drill the wells following a competitive tender process earlier this year.

The first well in the program, Karau-1, will be drilled to a depth of 1,080 m and target the Viqueque formation.

General Manager Jan Hulse expects the well will encounter 430 m of gross reservoir interval that is known to be oil-bearing in the near surface from evidence of oil seeps at the surface.

The play type has been likened to Bula field on the Indonesian island of Seram where 20 million bbl of oil have been recovered.

Hulse said the Timor Resources drilling campaign will target four different play types to maximize the chance of commercial success. The deepest well will be 2,740 m and target the Triassic and Jurassic formations.

The rig, which will be the only one in the country, is an 1,100-hp Loadcraft currently being commissioned in the US before being shipped across to East Timor for the January 2020 spud date.