The Vinccler Oil & Gas CA unit of PetroFalcon Corp., Carpinteria, Calif., activated a completion rig to work over gas wells on the 400,000-acre East Falcon Block near the Caribbean in northern Venezuela.
An agreement with International Finance Corp. calls for the World Bank to provide up to $40 million to develop Cumarebo and La Vela fields on the block (OGJ, Mar. 8, 2004, p. 38). Petroleos de Venezuela SA's ICO gas pipeline under construction will transport the gas to refineries and other buyers on the Paraguana Peninsula.
PetroFalcon reports that three existing wells in La Vela field encountered oil and gas in four prospective reservoir sections. They are Miocene Caujarao, Socorro/Querales, and Cerro Pelado, and Oligocene Pecaya formations.
Pecaya, Cerro Pelado, and Caujarao are the primary proven reservoirs and have had extensive oil and gas production testing in the 6X, 7X, and 8X wells. The formations are 3,500-9,000 ft deep with porosities of 12-22%. Testing the full extent of the Oligocene zones will require a penetration to 12,000 ft.
La Vela, almost totally onshore, is a large thrusted anticline 10 km long. Consulting engineers tallied 5.8 million bbl of proved oil and 65.6 bcf of proved gas reserves and 10.7 million bbl and 114.2 bcf of probable reserves.
PetroFalcon also needs to build liquids and gas gathering lines to connect the wells to the ICO pipeline.
Cumarebo field, 20 km east of La Vela, has 13 reservoirs in Caujarao and Socorro 15 to 200 ft thick and 600-6,500 ft deep. The reservoirs have 24-27% average porosities and 100 md to 1 darcy permeabilities.
Reserves estimate is 8.7 million bbl and 26.1 bcf proved and 5 million bbl and 13.4 bcf probable.