Good Ideas

Carl Greenstreet
Gas Exploration Manager

I’d worked for an oil & gas major before Santos, and one of the things I find really different here is the way Santos responds to new ways of doing things. A few years back my team learnt of a new technology - pinpoint fracturing - that was being pioneered in North America. It was used on quite different assets to ours, but we felt with some adaptations it could work in our field.

Santos backed us to look into it and after many months of pulling it together and a major investment to bring new equipment into Australia, we held the first trial.

It was an absolute disaster.

Instead of taking a couple of days as planned, it took nearly three weeks. We had breakdowns and initially it really didn’t go well. Yet Santos always kept their eyes on the long-term goals and encouraged us to persist. As a result we now use this technology every day and it’s unlocked hundreds of millions of dollars worth of asset value that otherwise would never have been viable. Santos is a fast adapter.

The company has also encouraged me to follow my nose when it comes to career opportunities and professional development. I’ve always wanted to move around and learn all I can about the industry and Santos encouraged it. I undertook a number of different technical roles before moving into leadership of an asset team, a fracture stimulation team, and an oil production optimisation and completions team. Now I’m an asset manager. That type of variety wouldn’t have happened with some other companies. As a result I’ve been able to constantly grow and learn across a number of areas. Santos is all about continual learning.

Alan Waldron
Staff Geophysicist

Working in the Onshore Gas Exploitation team presents many challenges for a geophysicist. The Cooper Basin is a thick Permian coal measures sequence and we have to advance reservoir characterisation techniques in this taxing setting.

In one situation a prolific gas discovery well was followed up with 3D seismic data, which identified the trap to be a stratigraphic closure. I commenced a detailed AVO analysis, and interpreted a major sand channel trend. I then submitted a proposal for a bold step-out well to test this trend. Following internal Peer Review and presentation to our Joint Venture partners the well was approved.

Despite the high well cost and also that these techniques had achieved no success in the past, Santos backed my judgement and drilled the well within six months. Fortunately the well was successful, and AVO analyses have subsequently been used to justify further drilling in other areas of the Cooper Basin.

Being able to face interesting and challenging situations like this and having the support to implement an untested idea is just one of the reasons that I enjoy working for Santos.

Gill Read
Staff Reservoir Engineer

I’ve returned to Santos since having a family and what I’ve noticed is this is a changing company, moving in positive directions. There’s a lot of emphasis on working in multi-disciplinary teams. For me that’s meant the chance to steward projects from beginning to end and get exposure to areas that aren’t my primary competency.

Another recent improvement is the flexibility in working conditions. Being able to work around school hours has enabled me to have a great work / life balance. Santos have also implemented technology that facilitates us working from home, so I can monitor drilling results from home and avoid late nights in the office.

What I’ve always enjoyed about Santos, though, is the encouragement they give to try new ways of doing things. Currently we have a proposal for an appraisal drilling and enhanced oil recovery scheme in a Northern Territory oil and gas field. Underbalanced drilling is being proposed as a method to reduce formation damage and improve productivity. We’re optimistic this will be supported as a new and better way to maximise recovery from a remote field.

We’ve also been supported in our idea for a recent infill drilling campaign in the Cooper Basin. The wells were deepened to a previously uneconomic target zone resulting in valuable pressure and reservoir quality data. This work resulted in a revised view of the secondary target zone and further infill drilling to access this zone is underway. It just goes to show the confidence and trust Santos places in its people and all makes for a great work experience.