Australia's Beach Energy has flowed gas from the Moonta-1 shale well in PEL 218 in the South Australian Cooper basin.
Beach said that the well was flowing at a rate of 1.1 million cubic feet per day on Friday and rising, noting the wellhead was choked back during early flow back of stimulation fluid and gas, according to upstreamonline.com.
The company carried out a 10-stage fracture stimulation programme over the well, with nine stages in the deeper Patchawarra formation and one in the shallower Murteree shale.
Flow testing of the well will continue for at least a month before the well is shut-in to monitor pressure build-up and the company plans to carry out the stimulation of the shallower zones at a later date.
Moonta-1 was drilled to a depth of 3810 metres in April this year and logs indicated the well had intersected more than 1000 metres of gas saturated Permian target zone, from the Toolachee formation to the base of the Patchawarra formation.
Beach also revealed that a nine-stage fracture stimulation programme had been completed at the at Streaky-1 wellsite, adding a workover rig would be deployed in the new year to install production tubing for a flow test.
Beadch holds a 100 per cent interest in PEL 218.
