Fire in Sampang well put out

Fire in Sampang well put out

SYDNEY (AFX): Santos Ltd said the fire in the Sampang well, offshore East Java, has been put out, although gas is still escaping from the well bore.

Specialist well control personnel have been mobilized and are currently assessing the situation at the well site, with equipment required to kill the well and effect a plug and abandon operations currently being mobilized locally and from Singapore, it said.

Santos said it expects the cost of damage from the blow-out to be covered largely by insurance.

Following the plugging and abandonment of the well, an assessment will be made of the cause for the blow-out and the future drilling program in the Sampang PSC, Santos said.

The Sampang PSC is located offshore in the Madura Straits, Indonesia, and is approximately 35 km east of Surabaya. The well is located in 14.8 metres of water and was being drilled by the PT Hitek Nusantara Trident 9 jack-up drilling rig, the statement said.

Interest holders in the PSC are Santos (Sampang) Pty Ltd, with a 45 percent stake and Coastal Indonesia Sampang Ltd with a 40 percent share and Cue Sampang Pty Ltd with 15 percent.