Algeria
Petroceltic International PLC issued final test results on the AT-9 appraisal well in Ain Tsila field in eastern Algeria that appear to be among the highest gas flow rates achieved from an unstimulated Ordovician well in Algeria.
Petroceltic operates the Isarene permit in the southern Illizi basin with a 56.625% interest, Sonatrach has 25%, and Enel has 18.375% pending final ratification.
Following debottlenecking of the surface flow lines at well AT-9, the well has now tested at a maximum flow rate of 67.6 MMscfd. Besides being without fracture stimulation, the test rate was constrained by surface facility capacity.
The upper zone flowed at rates of 11.7-67.6 MMscfd plus 360-1,005 b/d of condensate with 2,342-933 psig flowing wellhead pressures on 32-181/64-in. chokes. The lower zone flowed at 6.8-8.9 MMcfd plus 17-205 b/d of condensate with 331-1,356 psig FWHP on 32-84/64-in. chokes.
The company said, "The relatively high flowing well head pressure indicates that the well could potentially deliver at higher rates in a production setting and underlines our confidence in achieving our planned development plateau rates of 400 MMscfd."
Israel
Adira Energy Ltd., Toronto, has relinquished its 100% owned, 31,000-acre Eitan license in the Hula Valley onshore northern Israel.
After assessing the findings of its 1,000-m well to evaluate the potential for field development, including the wireline coring of coal, desorption analysis for gas content, and evaluation of geological parameters, the company submitted a report to the office of the petroleum commissioner of the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures. The company noted that the quality of the coals tested is poor and that an economically viable project would not likely result.
Adira has recommended returning the license, coordinating with the ministry the activities necessary for closing the project including abandonment of the well, returning the site to the landowners, and selling its drilling equipment.
Adira continues to concentrate efforts on developing its Gabriella, Yitzhak, and Samuel licenses off Israel.
Morocco
Kosmos Energy Ltd., Dallas, entered into a reconnaissance contract for the Tarhazoute deepwater block off Morocco.
The block covers 1.9 million acres in 3,250-8,200 ft of water in the Agadir basin between the company's Essaouira and Foum Assaka blocks. Kosmos will operate Tarhazoute with a 100% working interest and will initially reprocess 2D seismic. The reconnaissance contract has a 1-year term, after which the company has the right to enter into a petroleum agreement for the acreage.
Kosmos noted that it has licensed the large majority of the Agadir basin petroleum system and is shooting 3D seismic beginning in the Essaouira block.
New Zealand
New Zealand Energy Corp., Vancouver, BC, reported a flowing production rate of 580 b/d of 41.8° gravity oil and 970 scf/bbl of associated gas at Copper Moki-1, its first well in New Zealand's Taranaki basin.
Surface facilities will handle as much as 1,000 bo/d. The company will install permanent facilities by midyear that can be expanded to handle output from more wells. Produced oil is being trucked to the Shell-operated Omata tank farm 45 km north. NZEC is evaluating gas market options.
NZEC planned to spud the Copper Moki-2 delineation well by yearend 2011 from the same pad as Copper Moki-1 to target the Urenui and Mount Messenger formations. It plans to spud Copper Moki-3 on completion of Copper Moki-2 and will target the Mount Messenger, Urenui, and Moki formations.
Poland
A unit of Talisman Energy Inc. has spud the Rogity-1 well on the Braniewo S concession in the Baltic basin in Poland.
The well targets unconventional shale gas in formations of Lower Silurian, Ordovician, and Upper Cambrian age. It is the second in a three-well program in the basin.
One more well is to be drilled on the Szczawno concession in early 2012. Rogity-1 will be the easternmost penetration of the Paleozoic section in the Baltic basin, said participant San Leon Energy PLC.
This area is believed to be less thermally mature and is considered to carry more risk than the western part of the basin, but San Leon believes it has the potential for a more liquids-rich production.
Suriname
Kosmos Energy Ltd., Dallas, signed production sharing contracts for Blocks 42 and 45 in the Atlantic off Suriname.
The company's first exploratory acreage outside West Africa, the blocks are unexplored. Water is 650-8,500 ft deep. Block 42 covers more than 1.5 million acres and Block 45, 1.3 million acres. Kosmos will operate both with 100% working interest. The blocks lie 110-200 miles off Paramaribo.
Kosmos will shoot 3D seismic in the initial exploration phase and could start drilling as early as 2014. The exploration concept is an extension of the Upper Cretaceous stratigraphic play system that Kosmos unlocked on the West African side of the South Atlantic Transform Margin.
Tajikistan
Tethys Petroleum Ltd. has acquired 34% of the shares of Seven Stars Energy Corp. from its Tajik joint venture partner Sangam Ltd., increasing Tethys' interest in the Bokhtar production sharing contract area to 85% from 51%.
Bokhtar covers 8.7 million unexplored acres in the Afghan-Tajik basin. The block is assigned an audited, unrisked prospective resource of 7 tcf.
Tethys is shooting data with the goal of drilling the first deep presalt exploratory well at an early date.
Tethys reckons "the Afghan-Tajik basin and its extension the Amu‐Darya basin to be one of the most prolific in the world with giant and supergiant gas and condensate fields such as those in...Uzbekistan and in Turkmenistan."
Turkey
Anatolia Energy Corp., Calgary, has a 50% working interest and is joint operator with Calik Enerji Sanayive Ticaret AS on six exploration and two development licenses in southeastern Turkey.
An exploratory well is planned for late 2012-early 2013 on the 53,906-acre Besni license where it has identified four prospects in Cretaceous Mardin carbonates in a complex strike-slip structure where the reservoirs are expected to be heavily fractured.
Besni is just southwest of where Turkiye Petrolleri AO discovered Sambayat field in 2008 at a well that flowed 3,000 b/d of oil. Sambayat field has nine producing wells, and estimated ultimate recovery is 30 million bbl of oil from the Cretaceous, Calik Enerji said.
Sambayat was Turkey's largest oil discovery in 20 years, and TPAO plans to drill another exploratory well just north of the Besni license.
A 100 line-km 2D seismic survey has been shot and is being processed in an effort to further refine the images of the four prospects, Anatolia Energy said.
Saskatchewan
Sundance Energy Corp., Calgary, said it has begun completion-evaluation operations at its Ochapowace 6-5-18-3w2m test well in Southeast Saskatchewan.
The formations being completed for production testing are the Bakken, Souris Valley-Lodgepole, Watrous, and Second White Specks.
The Bakken formation is perforated and is waiting to be fraced and completed. Conventional completions will then be conducted on the Souris River-Lodgepole and the Watrous. Finally the Second White Specks will be perforated, fraced, and completed.
Sundance has drilled the Lestock 5-3-27-15w2m test well on its Muskowekwan First Nations permit and cased it to 840 m total depth.
Logs and cores indicate potential oil and gas pay zones in the Second White Specks, Souris Valley-Lodgepole, and the Nisku-Birdbear formations. Completion is expected to begin as soon as services are available.
Idaho
Bridge Resources Corp. and its joint venture partner Paramax Resources Ltd. have completed the process undertaken by Meagher Energy Advisors to review strategic options for the Bridge-Paramax JV's western Idaho assets, including the Willow-Hamilton gas development area.
Bridge and Paramax, both of Calgary, are in negotiations to finalize the definitive terms and conditions of a sale of the Willow-Hamilton development area in Payette County (OGJ Online, Mar. 21, 2011).
Separately, Bridge is in negotiations regarding a farmout of its leasehold acreage position outside of the Willow-Hamilton development area.
Utah
The US Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on EOG Resources Inc.'s proposal to directionally drill 11 natural gas wells from two pads 50 miles south of Vernal, Utah.
BLM's Vernal field office is preparing an environmental assessment of the proposal and will accept comments until Jan. 13, 2012, it said in a Dec. 12 notice.
The site is in 25-9s-22e, Uintah County, in the Chapita Wells unit of giant Natural Buttes gas-condensate field.
The agency said that less than 1 acre of disturbance per well pad under the proposal is expected under the proposal, and existing roads would provide access to the project area.
Existing gas lines along the access roads would be used, with any new pipelines constructed on the lease.
Additional pipeline construction, grading, and right-of-way would not be needed.
If dry, the wells would be plugged and abandoned as BLM and Utah state regulations require.
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