LAYANG-LAYANG: SHELL BRUNEI FIRST ONSHORE DISCOVERY IN 37 YEARS

BRUNEI Shell Petroleum Company (BSP) has achieved an exciting new success in exploration as it made its first significant onshore discovery in 37 years with its Layang-Layang Well in the Lumut area. The Layang-Layang oil and gas discovery is the first of its kind as it confirms a new geological concept called a Shale diapir trap which was interpreted from seismic data and Brunei field outcrop studies. A shale diapir is a large cavity injected with Shale under high subsurface pressure, and had never previously been considered as a valid trap mechanism for BSP until now. According to the statement, what makes this discovery particularly remarkable is the application of new, advanced seismic processing technology to existing older data. This new technology enabled the successful geological thinking and safe drilling of the Layang-Layang Well. Well log evaluation shows a significant column of 300m of gas and oil over six reservoir intervals with good quality sands for this depth. The exact volumes are yet to be evaluated but initial calculations indicate that the target of 18mmboe has likely been exceeded.
In parallel to this exploration campaign, the Layang-Layang Well’s discovered oil will be further appraised and developed with an ambitious target already set for first production in 2018 via pipelines to Brunei LNG and Sungai Liang Industrial Park located about 10km away from the Layang-Layang Well. (Source and image: BSP / Drilling Layang-Layang well)