By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 28 – GeoPark Holdings Ltd. took delivery of a state-of-the-art hydraulic rig from Petreven at the end of 2010 in an effort to increase drilling speed and cut drilling costs 15-20% on the Fell block in Chile’s Magallanes basin.
The rig is to begin drilling in early February 2011. The company will run two rigs in the first half and one in the last half of 2011 on its Chilean and Argentine blocks. GeoPark expects to drill eight new wells in 2011 to develop and produce Guanaco oil field, discovered in 2010.
Following 2D and 3D seismic surveys and interpretation on the Tranquilo and Otway blocks in Chile, GeoPark plans to drill the Esperanza prospect on Tranquilo in the first half of 2011. Esperanza is a high risk prospect that targets 715 bcf of unrisked mean gas resources. A reorganization of equity interests, once ratified by the Chilean government, will result in GeoPark having a 25% working interest and operatorship of both blocks.
Management estimates that the company hiked its proved and probable oil and gas reserves 29% to around 50 million bbl of oil equivalent at the end of 2010. It added a fourth compressor at the Kimiri Aike dew point plant, increasing gas handling capacity to 88 MMcfd.
US Department of the Interior.
File photo from PDVSA..
