PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Santos on Wednesday announced a significant discovery at the Pavo-1 exploration well, near its Dorado development, offshore Western Australia.

The well was drilled on the northern culmination of the greater Pavo structure and encountered a 60-m gross hydrocarbon column in the primary Caley member reservoir target.

Santos told shareholders that wireline data had confirmed 46 m of net oil pay, with an oil-water contact intersected at 3 004 m measured depth (MD). Excellent reservoir quality is interpreted from logs with 19% average porosity, permeabilities in the 100 to 1 000 millidarcy range and hydrocarbon saturations averaging 80%, similar to that encountered in the Dorado field.

A 2C contingent resource for the northern culmination is assessed at 43-million barrels of oil gross. The southern culmination has an additional best estimate P50 prospective resource of 40-million barrels of oil gross.

The result at Pavo-1 also significantly de-risks the hydrocarbon-bearing potential of the separate southern culmination of the greater Pavo structure.

Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher described the Pavo discovery as a great result that could add further material value to the Dorado project through a potential low-cost tie-back to the proposed Dorado facility.

“The Pavo-1 success is expected to support a potential low-cost tie-back to the first phase of the proposed Dorado development, with Pavo north having an estimated breakeven cost of less than $10/bl, and future gas production from the Bedout basin providing a source of supply into our existing domestic gas infrastructure in Western Australia,” Gallagher said.

“With the global oil and gas markets seeing increased volatility, low-CO₂ oil and gas resources at Dorado and Pavo add significantly to Australia’s national energy security. It is also very encouraging for the next exploration well in the current campaign, Apus-1, which offers another potential nearby low-cost tie-in opportunity to the Dorado development.

“The Pavo-1 well result also proves the petroleum system in the basin is effective over a greater area, de-risking a number of nearby low-cost opportunities.”