Tenement Information
Tenement |
Area (km²) |
Location | Operator | CTP Consolidation Entity | Other JV Participants | ||
Registered Interest (%) |
Beneficial Interest (%) |
Participant Name |
Beneficial Interest (%) |
||||
OL 3 | 616 | Amadeus Basin NT | Central | 50 | 50 | Echelon Cue Energy |
35% 15% |
Facility Details
Palm Valley gas is produced at low pressure from the wells and transported via flow lines to a production facility where it is compressed and dehydrated. The gas is then supplied to the transmission pipeline for transport to the customers in the Northern Territory and east coast gas market.
Description and Geology
Gas was discovered at the Palm Valley 1 well in 1965 with the gas primarily reservoired in an extensive fracture system in the Lower Stairway Sandstone, Horn Valley Siltstone and Pacoota Sandstones at depths from 1,800 to 2,200 m. The anticlinal structure is approximately 29 km in length and 14 km in width with well locations initially selected from surface mapping and ease of access.
Production history
The Palm Valley Gas Field comprises four gas producers with one well used to reinject water and five wells used for pressure monitoring. After cumulative production of 183 PJ, the field was shut in between 2015 and 2018 during a market-constrained period.
In 2019, the Northern Gas Pipeline began commercial operation and provided access to the east coast gas market. Palm Valley 13 (PV13) was commissioned in May 2019 and produced at a peak rate of approximately 7 TJ/d for 12-months, bringing Palm Valley’s capacity to a peak of 13 TJ/d during that time.
The Palm Valley 12 (PV12) well was drilled and commissioned in late 2022, producing up to 9.5 TJ/d in December 2022.
Aggregate gross field capacity in June 2024 was approximately 8.5 TJ/d.
Appraisal and Development
The successful horizontal PV13 and PV12 wells, which were commissioned in May 2019 and November 2022 respectively, supports the drilling of additional wells targeting gas reserves and production at Palm Valley.
Exploration
The Palm Valley Deep (PV12) exploration/appraisal well did not encounter commercial gas flows from the deeper Pacoota-3 Sandstone at Palm Valley when drilled in August 2022. A deeper target, the Arumbera Sandstones, could hold an estimate mean prospective resource of 123PJ of gas (61.5 PJ net to Central) and will be targeted in a later exploration program.