ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Information on petroleum developments in the Far East is gratefully acknowledged from the following sources.

BRUNEI-MALAYSIA
Asiatic Petroleum Corp., New York
Harry Wassall & Assoc., Inc., Geneva, Switzerland

BURMA
General Exploration Co., Los Angeles, California
Harry Wassall & Assoc., Inc., Geneva

CHINA, TAIWAN
Chinese Petroleum Corp., Taipei, Taiwan
Harry Wassall & Assoc., Inc., Geneva

INDIA
Ministry of Petroleum & Chemicals, New Delhi
The Burmah Oil Co., Ltd., London

JAPAN
Harry Wassall & Assoc., Inc., Geneva

PAKISTAN
Ministry of Industries and Natural Resources, Islamabad/Rawalpindi
The Burmah Oil Co., Ltd. London
Esso Standard Eastern, Inc., New York
Sun Oil Co., Philadelphia

PAPUA
Marathon International Oil Co., Findlay, Ohio
Oil Search, Ltd., Sydney
Phillips Petroleum Co., Bartlesville, Oklahoma

PHILIPPINES
Bureau of Mines, Manila

PORTUGUESE TIMOR
Timor Oil Ltd., Sydney

THAILAND
Union Oil Co. of California, Los Angeles

INTRODUCTION

For the purpose of this report, the Far East comprises the countries from West Pakistan eastward to Japan and Papua, but does not include Australia and New Zealand. Petroleum developments in this area are reviewed alphabetically by country.

Exploratory activity other than wildcat drilling generally was at a higher level in 1965 than in 1964, principally because of increased efforts in Brunei-Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Papua. Exploration in the Philippines in 1965 was curtailed sharply to about half the number of party months of geological and geophysical work reported in 1964. Activity in Taiwan, Japan, Portuguese Timor, and Thailand remained at about the same level. India led by far in 1965 with a total of 53 crews engaged in seismic, gravity, and geological work. In 1965, 312 party-months of all types of geological and geophysical surveys were reported, a considerable increase over the 238 party-months reported in 1964. In addition, a total of 500 party-months was estimated for all the Far East (based on the nu ber of crews in operation where party-months were not given plus reported party-months), surpassing the 400 party months estimated in 1964 on the same basis.

Development and exploratory drilling also increased in 1965. More than 400 wells, totaling more than 2,000,000 ft., were drilled in 1965, compared with 350 wells with a combined total footage of about 1,600,000 in 1964. The number of oil or gas wells increased overall in 1965, and the number of dry holes dropped nearly 40% from 1964. As in 1964, Japan led with 245 wells with a total footage of 1,241,521, followed by India with 64 wells totaling 379,871 ft.

Oil production in the non-Communist countries of the Far East was estimated to have increased from 673,951 b/d in 1964 to 722,140 b/d in 1965. The countries mainly responsible for this increase are: Indonesia, India, and Brunei-Malaysia,

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Fig. 1. FAR EAST Sedimentary Deposits and Oil Fields 1965

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Fig. 1. Continued.

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which reported production in 1965 higher by about 26,500 b/d, 14,100 b/d, and 8,200 b/d, respectively. A slight decrease in daily production was noted in Japan and Pakistan during 1965.

Again, Taiwan showed the most striking improvement. Crude production increased 115% and gas production 80% above 1964.

No information was available on Communist countries of the Far East; hence, the production figures used for 1964, which were tentative, have been assumed to reflect the approximate production from these areas and have not been included in the statistical summary in Table III.

BRUNEI-MALAYSIA

Production of crude oil and natural gasoline in 1 degree,65 increased about 11% from 1964, rising from 73,693 b/d in 1964 to 81,885 b/d in 1965. No exploratory wells were drilled during the year compared with 4 unsuccessful wildcats in 1964. However, development work increased significantly in 1965, and 18 field wells, of which 15 were productive, were drilled in 1965, more than doubling the previous year's total of 8 wells, all of which were producers.

Geophysical activity was resumed in 1965. The Royal Dutch Shell group reported a total of 17.8 party-months of marine reflection-seismic work and 6.5 party-months of other geophysical work, whereas none was reported for 1964. On the other hand, no surface work was done in 1965, and 1.3 party-months of surface geology were reported for 1964.

Societe Nationale des Petroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA), a French Company, reportedly was awarded an Oil Prospecting License covering 3,938 sq. mi. in the Sabah offshore early in 1965. However, no exploratory activity by this company has been confirmed.

Table I. REPORTED GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL PARTY-MONTHS IN THE FAR EAST IN 1965

Table II. REPORTED WELL COMPLETIONS IN FAR EAST IN 1965

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Sabah Teiseki Oil Company, an affiliate of Teikoku Oil Company of Japan, was awarded an Oil Prospecting License covering 201 sq. mi. in February, 1965.

BURMA

There was no private exploration in Burma during 1965, because the Burmese Government, through the state-owned People's Oil Industry, controls 100% of Burmah Oil Company (1954) Ltd. and all of the producing areas. In April an announcement was made of a discovery in the Taunggyigwe structure, 16 mi. south of Prome, on the east side of the Irrawaddy River, and in August the well was producing 24 b/d from about 1,900 ft. In October reports were published of the discovery of a deeper zone in the Myanaung structure on the west side of the Irrawaddy, 30 mi. south of Prome. Initial production was 210 b/d and at the end of the year a total of 630 b/d was being produced from 4 wells. Plans for 1966 include the drilling of 4 wells at Taunggyigwe and 6 wells at Myanaung. Unconfirmed reports indi ate that some development drilling was done in the Chauk, Yenanguang, and Yenangyat fields. No geophysical work was reported, and field geological work, if any, probably was minor.

Crude oil production was estimated at slightly more than 12,000 b/d for 1965 and natural gas production was estimated at 8.5 MMCFD.

CHINA, MAINLAND

Information on developments in 1965 in Communist China were not available. However, oil production in 1964 was tentatively estimated at 160,000 b/d and it is assumed that this figure reflects the magnitude of production during 1965.

CHINA, TAIWAN

During 1965, 5 exploratory wells were abandoned as dry and at the end of the year 6 wildcats still were being drilled. Development drilling during

Table III. CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION IN FAR EAST IN 1964 AND 1965

Table IV. OIL PRODUCTION BRUNEI-MALAYSIA IN 1964 AND 1965

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Fig. 2. TAIWAN SKETCH MAP SHOWING PETROLEUM EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES 1965

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the year was concentrated in 2 gas fields, Chinshui and Tiehchenshan, where 6 wells were completed as producers and 2 were still in progress at the end of the year. Total footage drilled in 1965 was 134,000, compared with 113,737 ft. reported for 1964. Wildcat drilling accounted for about 68,000 ft. of the total footage.

Several surface-geological parties mapped selected areas, 200 sq. mi. of which was covered in about 14 party-months. Two seismic crews (24 party-months) shot 390 line-mi. (2,100 shot-points) in western Taiwan, and a 3-week experimental Sparker-gas exploder survey was conducted along the northwestern coast of Taiwan. The results of the 90 line-mi. survey were satisfactory, and a program to cover an extensive offshore area is now being considered. One gravity party observed 9,775 stations in western Taiwan during the year (12 party-months).

Natural gas production in 1965 was 80% higher than in 1964, reaching a new high of 10.84 Bcf. Crude oil production rose to 131,000 bbls.,

Table V. EXPLORATORY WELLS IN TAIWAN IN 1965

Table VI. DEVELOPMENT WELLS IN TAIWAN IN 1965

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Fig. 3. INDIA EXPLORATORY DRILLING 1965

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up 115% from the 1964 total of 61,000 bbls. The first gas turbine power plant in Taiwan, located near the Tiehchenshan gas field, went into operation in June. A 12-in. transmission trunk line connecting the Tiehchenshan and Chinshui gas fields with the city of Hsinchu is expected to be completed by mid-1966.

INDIA

The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), a Government agency, conducted the major exploration and production effort in 1965. One of the most significant developments was the discovery of oil at Kathana, near Cambay, details of which are not available. During the period April-November, 1965, ONGC drilled 64 wells, comprising a total footage of 379,871, and by December 31, 1965, had drilled 378 wells, of which 247 were oil- or gas-producing, 66 were dry, 47 were awaiting tests, and 18 were water-injection wells. In addition, 4 structure holes, with combined footage of 9,865, were drilled in Gujarat, Madras, and Uttar Pradesh, and 23 shallow holes were drilled in the Western region, Andhara Pradesh, northern India, and Srinagar valley.

Two wells were drilled (in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab) under contract with ENI, of Italy, and 1 well was drilled in Rajasthan under contract with FORASOL, of France, totaling 19,186 ft.

Burmah Oil continues to operate its original enterprise, the Assam Oil Company, which holds an exploitation license covering 20 sq. mi., but only in the declining Digboi field in the Assam basin. By the end of the year, Assam Oil had drilled 1,079 holes, of which 369 produced oil and 8 produced gas.

Oil India Ltd. (50% Indian Government, 50% Burmah Oil) operates in the Assam basin, where it holds exploration licenses covering 1,169 sq. mi., and exploitation licenses covering 510 sq. mi. By the end of 1965, the company had drilled 217 holes, of which 173 were oil- or gas-producing, 20 were dry, and 24 were awaiting tests.

During the early part of the year (April-June), ONGC had 17 geological field parties operating in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Madras, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and in Nepal. The number of field parties was reduced to 14 in the latter part of the year.

ONGC had 10 gravity-magnetic parties and 24 seismic crews active in Gujarat (including Kutch), Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Madras, and Andhara Pradesh during 1965. A total of 7,708 gravity-magnetic stations was observed in the period April-November and, by the end of November, 2,408 line-mi. of seismic profiles were recorded, putting the total for 1965 at about 8,900 gravity-magnetic stations and 2,500 line-mi. of seismic profiles. In February, 1966, ONGC planned to have 25 seismic crews and 12 gravity-magnetic parties in operation. In addition, a French seismic crew, under contract, covered 165 line-mi. in the Jaisalmer area in Rajasthan and an Oil India Ltd. seismic crew covered 314 line-mi.

With Russian assistance, a total of 2,437 line-mi. of marine-seismic activity was conducted off the Coromandel coast, and in the Gulf of Kutch and Cambay in 1965.

Production from the Ankleshwar field increased 250%, rising from 15,926 BOPD (2,200 metric tons) in March, 1965, to 39,814 BOPD (5,500 metric tons) by the end of the year, and the flow of associated gas from Ankleshwar field to the Uttaran Thermal Power Station began on September 29, 1965. Oil was produced on a trial basis from Kalol field, and preparations are being made to put the Rudrasagar field on trial production. Total crude production in India during 1965 was 20,993,100 bbls. (2,900,000 metric tons) and gas production for the year is estimated at 30 MMCFD.

INDONESIA

Caltex completed 6 successful development wells in the Bekasap field, which went on stream during 1965, producing 34.4° API oil at the rate of 16,973 b/d. Duri field production declined

Table VII. CUMULATIVE EXPLORATORY AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

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from 62,547 b/d in 1964 to 56,179 b/d (21.5° API) in 1965, despite the fact that 19 successful development wells were drilled in the field during 1965. Production from the Minas field rose from 219,586 b/d in 1964 to 247,762 b/d in 1965. Caltex's crude production for the year averaged 320,914 b/d.

Stanvac drilled 2 exploratory tests during 1965 in the Kampar area in central Sumatra. Napuh No. 1 was drilled to 4,013 ft. on a seismic prospect and was plugged and abandoned on April 16, 1965. A second test, Segat No. 1, was spudded on July 18, 1965, on a separate seismic feature and was drilling at 1,039 ft. when a gas zone blew out, setting the rig on fire. Most of the equipment was lost in the substantial crater that formed. Salvage operations began July 29, after the hole bridged itself and extinguished the fire. During the year, in south Sumatra, 8 development wells were completed as oil producers in the Talang Akar field at an average depth of 2,863 ft., and 2 development oil wells were completed in the Benekat field at an average depth of 1,708 ft. A development well spudded anuary 8, 1965, in the East Benekat field, proved to be dry, and was abandoned on January 25, 1965, at 3,864 ft. Stanvac's oil production for 1965 was 20,896,000 bbls., an average production of about 57,000 b/d. Stanvac plans actively to pursue exploration of the Kampar area in 1966 using seismic methods,

Table VIII. OIL PRODUCTION IN INDONESIA BY AREAS AND COMPANIES, 1964 AND 1965

Table IX. EXPLORATORY WELLS IN INDONESIA IN 1965

Table X. SHELL EXPLORATORY WELLS IN INDONESIA IN 1965

Table XI. PARTY-MONTHS OF GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL WORK IN INDONESIA IN 1965

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1 rig, and geological studies. Development drilling will be continued in south Sumatra.

Pan American Indonesia Oil Company conducted 12 party-months of seismic work on its southern contract area in central Sumatra and about 6 months of structure drilling. This company drilled no exploratory tests.

P. N. Permina, in conjunction with Asamera, drilled 3 wildcats in northern Sumatra in 1965. Geudongdong I was spudded on February 3 and abandoned at a depth of 3,440 ft. on March 17. Geudongdong II was spudded on April 12 and was completed on May 2 7 as a producer at a depth of 2,952 ft. A third wildcat, Besitang River, drilled with Refining Associates, was spudded March 7, and was left dry and abandoned on May 28 at a depth of 5,494 ft. Permina, in conjunction with North Sumatra Oil Development Corporation, continued development drilling in the Rantau and Pulau Tabuhan oil fields with 5 rigs At the end of the year 22 wells were completed, 20 of which were successful, for a total footage of 48,750. Permina-Asamera initiated development drilling in the Geudongdong field and 2 wells wer completed for a total footage of 6,485. Permina's production for the year was reported as 7,843,591 bbls.

Shell drilled 9 exploratory wells in Indonesia in 1965, 4 of which were completed as producers in south Sumatra, and in Kalimantan, 3 were found productive and 2 were dry. No development drilling was done during the year. The number of wells in the Tandjung field in south Sumatra was 89 at the end of the year. The only other exploratory activity reported was 24 party-months of seismic work.

JAPAN

In 1965 wildcat drilling increased about 10% from 1964 with a total of 421,580 ft. drilled, about 80% of which was in the Niigata Prefecture. Based on figures from previous years, Japan Exploration Company accounted for about 70% of the exploratory drilling with Teikoku accounting for 20%. The remaining 10% was undertaken by the Japanese Geological Survey and several small independent operators.

Development drilling was concentrated in the Niigata oil fields and the Chiba gas fields. A total of 819,942 ft. was drilled during the year, only slightly less than in 1964. Again, based on previous years' statistics, Teikoku accounted for about 60% of the total, Japan Exploration Company for 20%, and independent operators, 10%.

Accurate figures are not available for the total party-months of geological and geophysical work in 1965, but it is estimated that 2 seismic crews, 1 gravity party, and 5 geological field parties operated during the year.

Crude oil and natural gasoline production averaged 12,946 b/d, compared with 13,164 b/d reported in 1964.

Natural gas production in 1965 was 172,229 MCFD, about 4% less than in 1964. The 3 best fields, Kubiki and Chujo in the Niigata Prefecture

Table XII. TOTAL FOOTAGE DRILLED IN JAPAN IN 1965

Table XIII. SUMMARY OF WELL COMPLETIONS IN JAPAN IN 1965

Table XIV. CRUDE AND NATURAL GASOLINE PRODUCTION IN JAPAN IN 1964 AND 1965

Table XV. NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION IN JAPAN 1965

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and Mobara in the Chiba Prefecture, accounted for more than 55% of the total production. Both Mobara and Chujo produced dry gas, and Kubiki produced associated gas.

PAKISTAN

The Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC), a Government agency, led in exploration in 1965 with a total of 64.36 party-months of geological and geophysical work. Exploratory drilling activity also increased in 1965 and, by the end of the year, 9 tests had been drilled or were in progress, compared with 6 wildcats in 1964. Two of the 9 tests, however, were OGDC structural-stratigraphic holes in the Jaldi area, where 1 OGDC wildcat already had been drilled and a second was under way at the end of the year.

At the end of the year OGDC had 3 wildcat rigs in operation and 1 structure-drill rig was active During 1965 the agency was granted prospecting licenses at Kot Sarang and Sari Sing,

Fig. 4. WEST PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN

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covering 28 sq. mi., and plans for 1966 call for a second wildcat at Sari Sing and exploratory tests at Kot Sarang and Semutang.

Sun Oil Company abandoned Korangi Creek No. 1, its third wildcat in the area, after making drill-stem tests through casing of 5 gas shows in the Paleocene-Eocene section. The block on which these wells were drilled was reduced in size to half its original area (about 1,755 sq. mi.), and Sun plans no active exploration in 1966. Sun

Table XVI. EXPLORATORY WELLS IN PAKISTAN IN 1965

Table XVII. PARTY-MONTHS OF GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION IN PAKISTAN IN 1965

Table XVIII. DEVELOPMENT DRILLING IN PAKISTAN IN 1965

Table XIX. OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION IN PAKISTAN IN 1965

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continues to hold a 400-sq. mi. prospecting license in Hyderabad.

Pakistan Oilfields Ltd. participated with Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. in the drilling of 2 wildcats, Kundian No. 1 and Adhi No. 3. At the end of the year Attock Oil Company had 1 rig engaged in development drilling in the Dhulian field. Attock Oil produced 2,861,767 bbls. of oil from the Balkassar, Dhulian, Khaur, and Joya Mair fields during 1965. Pakistan Oilfields Ltd. reported its share of oil production from the Dhulian and Karsal fields as 512,966 bbls. for the year. One month of reflection-seismic work was done on the Meyal lease in December, with expectations that the survey would continue into 1966.

Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. had 1 rig engaged in exploratory drilling at the end of 1965, and had completed 9 gas producers and 1 observation well in the Sui field, which was producing at the rate of nearly 150 MMCFD, up 16.2% from 1964. Further development drilling will be done as the demand for gas increases. The only other exploratory activity consisted of ½ month of surface geological work in the Tank area. Pakistan Petroleum's

Fig. 5. EAST PAKISTAN

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share of production from the Balkassar field was 574,313 bbls. (1,573 b/d), up only 0.6% from 1964, and the company's share of the Karsal field was 7,091 bbls., up 35.2% from 1964. Gas production from the Chhatak field was 546 MMcf. (1.4 MMCFD), a drop of 2.6% from 1964. Gas production from the Sylhet field totaled 5,756 MMcf. (15.7 MMCFD), an 11% increase from the previous year. Condensate production from this field was 21,269 bbls. Pakistan Petroleum reduced the acreage under its prospecting license by 73.12 sq. mi. in 1965.

Pak Stanvac Petroleum Project (Esso), which has been inactive since 1961, began a development program in its Mari field in West Pakistan and plans to drill 6 wells besides the 4 already drilled.

PAPUA

Oil Search Ltd., operator for a group consisting of itself and its subsidiaries (80%), BP (10%), and Mobil International (10%), drilled the only exploratory well, Iviri No. 1, in Papua in 1965. The test was spudded July 14, 1965, at a location of Lat. 7°35^prime54^Prime S. and Long. 144°46^prime30^Prime E., and was abandoned on November 17, 1965, at total depth of 12,015 ft. in Cretaceous sediments. The only other exploratory activity by this group consisted of 4 party-months of seismic work in the northwest Wana area.

The only reported change in concession status during 1965 involved Oil Search Ltd., which released Permit No. 33 (13,142,000 acres) and increased the size of Permit No. 27 by 1,057 sq. mi., bringing the total area of this block to 7,234 sq. mi. (4,629,760 acres).

Phillips Petroleum Company, operator for a group composed of itself (25%), Sunray DX (25%), Canadian Superior (30%), and Richfield (20%), conducted 3½ party-months of reconnaissance marine seismic work during the year. A similar 2½-month program is planned for 1966, and the group expects to spud its first offshore wildcat in the Gulf of Papua before the end of 1966.

Marathon, operator for itself (50%) and Continental Oil Company of Australia, Ltd. (50%), conducted 10 party-months of reflection-seismic work, on its concession in eastern Papua in 1965, using 2 crews.

PHILIPPINES

During 1965, 147,042 ha. was relinquished and at the end of the year 7,552,008 ha. still was under exploration license. Exploration activity declined to 39½ party-months of geological and geophysical work in 1965 compared with 92 party-months in 1964.

Amoseas conducted about 15 days of aeromagnetometer work, as well as some marine seismic activity, in the Palawan area. Visayan Exploration, Inc., a subsidiary of Esso, also conducted a marine seismic survey and geological field work in the same area, as well as in the Visayan region. A total of 6 party-months of seismic work was reported for both companies. The Petroleum Division of the Bureau of Mines also conducted geological field work, and the combined total reported for this organization and Esso was 33 party months.

No exploratory drilling was done during 1965 compared with 15 wildcats and 10 stratigraphic-structural holes drilled in 1964.

PORTUGUESE TIMOR

Timor Oil Ltd., an Australian company, holds a concession of 6,851 sq. mi. covering most of Portuguese Timor. About 6 months of geological field work was conducted in 1965. No other exploration activity was reported.

THAILAND

Union Oil Company of California conducted 2 months of geological field work on its 21,222-sq. mi. Khorat Plateau concession.

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