Oil & Gas Explorations

Recently our local company assisted a major JV exploration company to scout for and locate its first wellsite here in PNG. Prior to the JV delegation visiting the site, we went out and marked out the actual site itself and made the pathway bearable to walk - well at least.

The delegation's visit was to confirm the drill location and its associated facilities i.e: barge landing site, service camp accomodations and its facilities etc.
Our camp was built earlier on in mid 2008 to cater for the Awapa seismic survey (for the same JV) so a service camp was already in place with communications network setup - internet and telephone.

First a walk through the sago swamp (infested with leaches and mozzies) to the drill site location. On the walk we had an environmentalist who, if I may say, did a whole lot better then her male counterparts (see her looking back at others still coming through)

At the location we had a whole group of men from another village join us as well just out of curiousity.......... and while the visitors rested and quencehd their thirst some brief was in order to water down undue expectations (which always happen anyways) by the Managing Director of Firewall Logistics, Craig McCornaghy:

After locating the proposed drillsite, it was now time to locate sites for use to support and service the drilling operations. Sites for use as barge landing, twin prop helicopter laydowns (Chinooks, Mil 8 and Russian made Kamovs etc), refuel pads, accomodation/ service camps, road feasibility and the like so it was done by motorised dinghy as all of this sites would have to be near the main water way .......................................

Pic from R-L: Jake Marco (Field Operations Manager), Noel Buttler (JV In-Country Manager), David Holmes (AsiaPasific Project Manager), Paul Fendder (Drilling Manager), Don Lewis (Drilling Expediter), Silas (Boat operator).

I suppose another of every explorationist's inner most secret is to make sites for support services as paradisic as it possibility could so it becomes a 'home away from home' during the long haul of the drilling program so one does not get insanely homesick and fall out. And there is no better place to set that over looking the water - especially any kind of flowing water. It just beats the hustle bustle of a long working day and keeps the stress at bay...............................

And so it was down to decision time of picking out the best possible sites to have the civil works contractors to come out and work out their quotations.

Then it was back to each his/her own little office to plan for the whole works to start in a years time, hopefully sooner but then unpredictables like weather pattern, dry/ wet seasons, logistics schedules of the suppliers could throw the whole thing back or forward to uncomfortables levels.

Be back in abit with something more or else............................