Egypt
Tanganyika Oil Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC, is developing heavy oil discoveries on the 468,750-acre West Gharib Concession west of the Gulf of Suez.
A rig is under contract for a continuous 12-well program on the block. Of four wildcats drilled on the block earlier this year, only Naiem-1 was dry.
Hoshia-1 stabilized at 620 b/d of 17° gravity oil from the Miocene Rudeis formation. The West Hoshia-1 produced 180 b/d of 10° gravity oil, and Fadl-1 produced 250 b/d of 14° gravity oil. Both await equipment for long-term tests.
The Hoshia-2 updip appraisal well found encouraging shows in Rudeis and the deeper Raha and Nubia formations.
The company also plans to appraise the previous South Rahmi discovery on the block and has submitted development applications for Hoshia, West Hoshia, Fadl, and South Rahmi. Hana field on the block was averaging 1,543 b/d of oil.
Mauritania
China’s CNPC International took a farmout covering Block 20 in the Mauritania coastal basin along the border with Senegal from Baraka Petroleum Ltd., Perth.
CNPC International will acquire a 65% operating interest in the 10,690-sq-km block by funding 100% of exploration costs up to $8.6 million. This will cover seismic acquisition on the Herron structure and will substantially fund the Herron-1 well in 2006, said Baraka, which retains 35% interest.
The farmout is subject to ministry approval, expected in July.
Block 20 is 180 km southeast of Chinguetti, an offshore oil discovery slated to go on production in 2006. It is close to potential gas markets in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and Dakar, Senegal, and surrounding population centers.
The former Texaco Inc. drilled Autruche-1 in 1989 and found oil and gas shows below the Turonian formation but relinquished the block in 1991.
CNPCI holds a production-sharing contract on Block 12 just north of Block 20. It plans to acquire 100 line-km of seismic on Block 20. Mauritania has no oil or gas production.
Colorado
XTO Energy Inc., Fort Worth, took a farmout from ExxonMobil Corp. on 69,500 contiguous gross acres in the Piceance basin east of ExxonMobil’s Piceance Creek Unit in Rio Blanco and Garfield counties. XTO Energy will operate and earn 50% working interest in the entire leasehold by drilling four wells. The first well, targeting the Williams Fork member of Cretaceous Mesaverde, is to spud by the end of 2005.
New Mexico
WW Oil & Gas Inc., private Farmington independent, plans to repermit the Right Angle Federal-1, in 19-20n-2w, Sandoval County, and air drill to 5,860 ft to test Jurassic Entrada and Cretaceous Gallup sandstones on the Chaco slope of the San Juan basin.
This well offsets the Filon Federal 19-1, which cut 24 ft of oil-saturated Entrada sandstone on the flank of a 246-ft sand dune in 1975. The dune extends 3 miles from 19 into 8-20n-2w, said High Plains Petroleum Corp., Boulder, Colo., which sold 1,120 acres in two leases to WW Oil & Gas.
The nearest Entrada oil production is 5 miles south in Media field, which has produced more than 1.1 million bbl of oil from an accumulation that covers 160 acres of a sand dune in 14-19n-3w. Gallup produced oil in Rio Puerco field 2 miles north of the leases.
Texas
Southwest
Cypress Hills Resource Corp., Vancouver, BC, took a farmout from Blue Star Oil & Gas Ltd., private Dallas independent, on 190,000 acres in Maverick and Zavala counties.
Cypress is seeking financing to drill at its expense 6 horizontal wells at $950,000/well with Cretaceous Georgetown oil as the primary target. Cypress will earn 50% interest in a 320-acre block for each well drilled from the base of the San Miguel to 100 ft below the base of the Sligo.
Cypress has licensed from Blue Star 400 sq miles of 3D seismic data over the prospects.
Other potentially prospective zones within the earned interval in the prospect area are the Glen Rose, Austin Chalk, Buda, Pearsall, and Sligo.
