Events

The Rafael 1 exploration well was drilled in the onshore Canning Basin by Buru Energy in late 2021 and made an exciting gas-condensate discovery in Devonian dolomites. The well tested a significant four-way structural closure mapped on a sparse regional 2D seismic grid, although the stratigraphic succession at the well location was difficult to predict due to the limited and distant well control. The Rafael 1 discovery has challenged a number of paradigms about the Canning Basin and supports the contention that significant volumes of gas in conventional reservoirs are yet to be discovered despite sporadic exploration over the past 100 years. The well also confirms that opportunity hides where high geological complexity and sparse datasets intersect.