Well tests near in western Idaho's Boise basin

May 3, 2010
Calgary independents Bridge Resources Corp. and Paramax Resources Ltd. have completed a third indicated discovery in western Idaho's nonproducing Boise basin and expect to start completion of the first well in May.

Calgary independents Bridge Resources Corp. and Paramax Resources Ltd. have completed a third indicated discovery in western Idaho's nonproducing Boise basin and expect to start completion of the first well in May.

The third well, Island Capitol 1-19, went to a TD of 4,385 ft and encountered several gas-bearing sands. Casing was set to test potential pay sands in a gross interval from 3,178 ft to 3,600 ft. Logs indicate the sands are clean with porosities in excess of 25%.

The first three wells, M.L. Investments 1-10, Espino 1-2, and Island Capitol 1-19, have been drilled for a combined total of less than $3 million including casing, far under budget.

Teunissen 1-17, 7 km west of Espino 1-2, is to spud this week. It is projected to 4,500 ft. The completion rig has arrived in Idaho, and M.L. Investments 1-10 is first to be tested.

China

CNOOC Ltd. has an oil discovery at its Penglai 9-1-2 well on the Miaoxibei uplift in eastern Bohai Bay off China.

The well, drilled to 1,505 m in 29 m of water, penetrated a combined 77 m of oil pay zones and a 158-m fractured zone of buried hill. It flowed 540 b/d of oil on a drillstem test of three layers.

Egypt

Dana Gas Egypt let a contract under which Egyptian Chinese Drilling Co. Rig. 1 will drill as many as 10 wells in Al Baraka field, sole producing area in southern Egypt's Kom Ombo basin.

The top drive-equipped rig is rated to 10,500 ft and is to spud Al Baraka-6 by the end of April. Al Baraka-5 will follow. The rig is capable of penetrating the basin's entire geologic section, said 50% working interest owner Sea Dragon Energy Inc., Calgary.

The first appraisal well targets the Abu Ballas and Six Hills E and F zones. An extensive coring and logging program is planned to adequately evaluate all potential reservoirs.

Guyana

Canacol Energy Ltd., Calgary, let a contract to Tuscany South America Ltd. to provide a 1,500-hp diesel electric rig to drill the K-2 exploration well in Guyana's Takutu basin.

Mobilization from Oklahoma is to take 60-70 days. Canacol has a 90% working interest in the Takutu PPL, which contains the Karanambo oil discovery drilled by Home Oil Ltd. in 1982.

Indonesia

Marathon Oil Corp. plans to shoot 2D seismic in early 2010 on the 1.24 million acre Kumawa exploration block in the eastern Ceram Sea off southern West Papua Province, Indonesia.

The underexplored block lies in 2,400 to more than 4,000 ft of water in the Semai region 180 miles south of the Tangguh LNG facility (OGJ Online, May 4, 2009). Drilling could start in 2011-12. Marathon's interest was to rise to 55% from 49%.

Israel

Zion Oil & Gas Inc., Dallas, and Aladdin Middle East Ltd. would establish a jointly owned drilling subsidiary in Israel.

An initial $7 million payment to Aladdin would be followed by a series of $1 million payments anticipated to coincide with Zion's drilling of seven wells in Israel using the 2,000-hp rig.

The new entity, Zion Drilling Inc., will be owned 51% by Zion Oil & Gas and 49% by Aladdin. Aladdin will be responsible for daily drilling operations. The rig is at Zion's Ma'anit-Rehoboth-2 wellsite, which the rig drilled to a TD of 17,913 ft in 2008-09.

Ivory Coast

A group led by Vanco Energy Co., Houston, said Orca-1X-bis in western Block CI-401 off Ivory Coast confirmed the availability of an active petroleum system in the western part of the Tano-Ivoirian basin in the Gulf of Guinea.

The well, on the Orca prospect, went to a TD of 4,015 m below sea level in 1,868 m of water 55 km south of Bassam. It is being plugged and temporarily abandoned. It penetrated the targeted objectives and discovered thin sandstone reservoirs.

Vanco recovered oil samples from Campanian and Turonian sandstones during drilling. More than 3,000 sq km of 3D seismic data have been shot in blocks CI-401 and CI-101. The group is defining a location for the first exploration well to be drilled in Block CI-101, planned in 2011. Interests in the blocks are Vanco 28.34%, OAO Lukoil 56.66%, and Ivory Coast's state Petroci 15%.

Syria

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC plans to drill two more exploratory wells in Syria in 2010 after failing to recover hydrocarbons to surface at its Hanoon-1 well on Block 26 about 8 km north of Khurbet East field.

Hanoon-1 targeted the Cretaceous Shiranish and Massive formations, the latter of which produces in the field. Lengthy tests recovered 24 m of core intermittently coated with viscous oil. No hydrocarbons were recovered on an open-hole test.

Larger of the two remaining 2010 exploratory prospects is South Souedieh, to be drilled in the fourth quarter.

Gulfsands has a 50% interest in Block 26, whose operator is Emerald Energy PLC, a subsidiary of Sinochem Resources UK Ltd.

Quebec

Consulting engineers rendered a best estimate of 48.3 tcf of undiscovered original gas in place in Ordovician Utica shale on the St. Lawrence Lowlands holdings of Junex Inc., Quebec City.

The engineers also issued a best estimate of net prospective recoverable resource of 3.7 tcf. Junex noted that its large St-Simon and Beaupre/Orleans permits were not evaluated due to a lack of scientific data.

California

Warren Resources Inc., New York, resumed drilling at the Wilmington Townlot Unit in California.

It spud the first new horizontal well, WTU No. 2171, on Apr. 15, 2010, that targets oil production from the Tar formation. The 2171 well is to be directionally drilled to a measured total depth of 5,300 ft.

This will be the first horizontal Tar formation well drilled in WTU's Northwest extension and the first of eight Tar formation wells to be drilled in the second and third quarters of 2010.

Oklahoma

Marathon Oil Corp. plans to participate in 5 to 10 wells that target deep Anadarko basin gas reservoirs and appraise and delineate 2008-09 discoveries.

In 2009 Marathon participated and operated in a 13-well appraisal program at the Brickyard prospect targeting Woodford shale in Canadian County. Yearend 2009 production from completed wells totaled 6 MMcfd of gas equivalent. Initial production was 2.5-5.5 MMcfd. The company's interest averaged 35%.

The company holds 52,000 net acres in the play's core area and plans to participate in 10-15 wells through 2010. With successful development, Marathon expects the play could yield 200-300 net locations. Marathon's Anadarko basin production centers on Cement, Huntley, Rocky, Knox, Elk City, and Ammunition fields.

Wyoming

Marathon Oil Corp.'s net sales of coalbed methane from the Powder River basin averaged 83 MMcfd in the 12 months ended in December 2009, the company said in its 2009 fact book.

Marathon holds 288,000 net acres in the basin, most of which it operates.

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