The Churchie-Noorindoo and Churchie West Area
PL 192 – Churchie-Noorindoo (Mosaic Operator 49%, Santos 51%)
PL 213 – Churchie West-West Noorindoo (Mosaic Operator 83.333%, Santos 16.667%)
The Churchie Field is located in production licence PL 192, which covers 92 sq km. The field extends over a 60 sq km area and is still open to the east. Churchie could be the largest gas field ever discovered in southeast Queensland. The field is located approximately 15 km east of the Surat Township and 90 km from the Mosaic’s main operational base at the Silver Springs Gas Processing Plant, so field operations are relatively easy to support.
The main gas zone is the Permian Tinowon Sandstone but all wells in the field have also encountered gas in the Triassic Rewan Sandstone reservoirs and deeper Permian Wallabella Sandstone reservoirs (also referred to as the Lower Tinowon Sandstone by others). These gas charged sands, which are at a different pressure from Tinowon sands, are behind casing and could be developed in the future.
Churchie 1 and 2 were drilled conventionally with water-based drilling fluids in July-August 2001. Churchie 1 flowed at a rate of over 1 mmscfd of gas on an extended production test. Commercialisation of the Churchie field was not firmly established until the Churchie 3 well was drilled underbalancedly with nitrogen and flowed 20 mmscfd on test in June 2002.
Since the Churchie production licence was first awarded in October 2002, with the pipeline licence awarded shortly after in December 2002, Mosaic Oil has had a high level of success in the field with the nitrogen drilling technology application. The gas-condensate producing wells in the field are Churchie 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7. Churchie 1, 1A and Noorindoo 1 are suspended and could be connected for production in the future.
Mosaic constructed the pipeline joining the field to the north flowing Wallumbilla trunkline on schedule in February 2003. The first gas from the Churchie Field was brought on stream on 17 March 2003 from the highly successful Churchie 3 well. Churchie 2 and 4 were connected to production in August 2004. Churchie 6 and 7 were drilled in November-December 2004 and connected for production in January 2005. A compressor installed in September 2005 and a sophisticated remote production monitoring system installed in 2006 have delivered improved field production and overall economics of the Churchie field. Produced gas is sold to Santos QNT under a contract of up to 3.5 PJ per year until 1 January 2011.
Successful Churchie West 1 in the adjacent PL 213 has extended the Tinowon Sandstone productive gas/condensate fairway to the west and southwest of the Churchie producing area. The Churchie West 1 well was successfully drilled with nitrogen in October 2006 and connected for production in March 2007.