Korean company Posco International has discovered a new gas field in Myanmar with exploration well Mahar-1, located in offshore Block A3 in the Rakhine Basin.
Location of the Posco International gas discovery at the Mahar-1 well in the Rakhine Basin, offshore Myanmar.
Korean company Posco International has discovered a new gas field in Myanmar with exploration well Mahar-1, located in offshore Block A3 in the Rakhine Basin. The well was targeting anticlines in Late Miocene/Pliocene turbidite sands which are currently producing gas in Posco’s nearby Shwe and Mya fields. Mahar is understood to be a downslope extension of the Shwe/Mya complex in Blocks A1 and A3 which is thought to hold around 4 Tcfg. The combined production rate from the nine wells in these two fields is approximately 500 MMcfd.
The Mahar-1 well reached a TD of 2,598m in water depths of around 1,200m in February. A gas column of around 18m was encountered and a DST indicated that the reservoir could yield about 38 MMcfd. An early internal assessment puts the estimated contingent resources at around 660 Bcfg. One or two appraisal wells will be drilled in 2021. This was the second of a three-well drilling programme in the block. The results of the first well, Kissapanadi, close to the Mya field, are being assessed. The next well, Yan Aung Myin, 24 km south-east of Mahar-1, is expected to be drilled in May.
Further Reading on Hydrocarbon Exploration in Myanmar
The Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of Myanmar
Amy Gough, South East Asia Research Group. Royal Holloway, University of London
Despite having a long history in petroleum production – and being the place where the anticlinal trap was first recognised – there is much left to learn about the geology of Myanmar and its remaining hydrocarbon potential.
This article appeared in Vol. 16, No. 1 – 2019
