2016's biggest natural-gas discovery is growing by the day

Reuters/Nozim Kalandarov

International natural gas is shaping up as one of 2016’s most interesting spots in energy. Given that prices in many world markets are still running high, even as valuations for E&Ps subside.

And one of those markets is in Southeast Asia — where the year’s most interesting natgas drilling discovery just got a whole lot more substantial.

That’s in the offshore of Myanmar. Where Australian petro-major Woodside Energy said late last week it has hit on a second consecutive well in this virgin territory — with the results looking even better than the initial discovery well.

Woodside announced last Thursday that its Thalin-1A exploration well in Block AD-7 in the Rakhine Basin intersected a gross gas column of 64 meters — showing a significant thickness of target horizon here.

The bigger number however, was the net pay (the thickness of strata within a target zone that actually contains natural gas) which came in at 62 meters — more than quadruple the 15 meters of net pay that Woodside found in its initial Shwe Yee Htun-1 exploration well.

That shows the reservoir quality in the Myanmar offshore play may be better than initially suspected. And here’s the most important thing about this new drilling: Woodside’s latest well is a full 375 kilometers away from the initial drill site. Suggesting huge potential for the productive basin here.

As the map below shows, the Thalin-1A well is at the very north end of Woodside’s acreage in the Myanmar offshore (dark blue blocks). Whereas the original Shwe Yee Htun-1 well was located near the southern edge of the project area.

Reuters/Nozim Kalandarov

Woodside’s latest well has proved natural gas at the far northern end of its project area in the Myanmar offshore (source: Woodside Energy)

More than ever, these emerging results make this a play to watch as 2016 continues. Local gas pricing is strong — and there are a number of other majors and juniors who have grabbed acreage in Myanmar recently, and will undoubtedly be following on the heels of these discoveries.

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