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Exploration & Development — Quick Takes
Colombia Putumayo subsalt exploratory well cased
Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., Toronto, has set casing to test the Yaraqui-1X exploratory well on a subsalt prospect on the Topoyaco block in the Putumayo basin foothills in Colombia.
Drilling and logging provide encouraging indications of the potential of the subthrust play, a new exploration horizon for the company, Pacific Rubiales said.
The well drilled through Tertiary and Cretaceous and penetrated 61 ft of Precretaceous basement before reaching a total depth of 10,651 ft measured depth. The well was drilled directionally with a southeast-northwest orientation in a subthrust monocline structure,referred to as structure D, that covers 4,500 acres.
Petrophysical evaluation of the logs indicates that the well encountered 142 ft of potential hydrocarbon-bearing sandstones distributed among the base of the Rumiyaco formation and in the Villeta and Caballos formations, all of which have proven to be commercial reservoirs elsewhere in the basin.
In the Rumiyaco formation, the Arena Neme sandstone unit was encountered at 9,714 ft MD, 8,801 ft TVD with 20 ft of net oil sandstones with 10% porosity. In the Villeta formation, the pay units were found at 9,748 ft MD, 8,828 ft TVD, with a total of 120 ft of potential oil pay, 10 ft in the M2 sandstones encountered at 10,110 ft MD, 9,126 ft TVD, 40 ft in the U sandstones that start at 10,202 ft MD, 9,201 ft TVD, and 70 ft in the "T" sandstones, found at 10,354 ft MD, 9,327 ft TVD.
The U sands have porosities of 10% while the "T" sands have porosities in the order of 11%. In the Caballos formation, found at 10,510 ft MD, 9,458 ft TVD, a total of 2 ft of potential hydrocarbon sandstones was found with porosities of 11%.
Turkey, Shell to sign exploration agreement
Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, eyeing recent developments in neighboring Iraq and Cyprus, said his country will sign a contract with Royal Dutch Shell PLC for offshore oil and gas exploration. The minister did not say where the exploration would be conducted.
Turkey's move follows an announcement that Iraq's government approved an agreement with Shell and Mitsubishi Corp., forming a joint venture to gather gas from three major oil fields.
The JV, Basrah Gas Co., is comprised of Iraq's South Gas Co. (51%), Shell (44%), and Mitsubishi (5%), and will gather raw gas that is currently being flared.
Shell said it will provide project management and technical expertise aimed at facilitating the learning and development of Iraqi staff to progressively assume key positions in the management of the company.
The JV will collect and process gas from the Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna 1, and Majnoon fields in the southern part of the country. Shell said the primary market for the gas will be Iraq, but any surplus can potentially be exported.
Some 700 MMscfd of gas is currently burned off in southern Iraq. At current prices, the gas is worth about $1.8 billion/year.
Turkey's move also comes after Cyprus' government, which is not recognized by Ankara, struck a deal with Noble Energy for gas exploration off the southern coast of the divided island.
In September, Turkey sent a ship of its own, the Piri Reis, to the region after signing an accord for gas exploration with the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Ankara recognizes.
Turkey says the Greek-speaking Cyprus government has no right to conduct offshore energy exploration while United Nations-backed talks on reunifying the island continue.
Noble Energy recently said it has identified 12 more prospects with more than 20 tcf of gross unrisked resource potential in the eastern Mediterranean that target sands equivalent to those it discovered at Tamar off Israel (OGJ Online, Nov. 15, 2011).
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