Area Drilling

Sept. 18, 2000
State oil companies let a contract to Petroleum Geo-Services ASA for a 1,500 sq km reservoir characterization project covering giant Zakum oil field in the Persian Gulf.

Abu Dhabi

State oil companies let a contract to Petroleum Geo-Services ASA for a 1,500 sq km reservoir characterization project covering giant Zakum oil field in the Persian Gulf.

The 15-month, seismic-based study is designed to help the companies optimize production from the field and could serve as the base survey for a future time-lapse 3D reservoir monitoring program.

Prince Edward Island

Canadian independents plan to drill a 12,000 ft wildcat near Souris on the island's northeastern coast and off the southwestern flank of the Magdalen basin.

The operator will be an amalgamation, if approved, of private Meteor Creek Resources Inc., Toronto, and Double Down Resources Ltd., Calgary.

The well, to be spudded in the fourth quarter, is to evaluate the Riverdale sandstone of Carboniferous age. Its location is about 40 miles southwest of the East Point E-49 well in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which flowed 5.5 MMcfd of gas from Riverdale.

The Bear River prospect is on a 77,000-acre tract. Claude Anger, a Montreal geophysicist and proprietor of AGREN Canada Inc., generated the prospect.

Gulf of Mexico

TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co., Houston, released a pre-stack depth migration study of part of the deepwater portion of the eastern gulf in anticipation of the area's first federal lease sale since 1989.

The information is derived from 5,200 km of 2D seismic data acquired in 6,000-10,000 ft of water south of Pensacola in the DeSoto Canyon and Lloyd Ridge areas. GX Technology Corp. performed the depth imaging in partnership with TGS-NOPEC.

The tentative sale date is Dec. 5, 2001.

Meanwhile, TGS-NOPEC and Geophysical Development Corp. launched a study of 50 gulf deepwater fields. It is to provide a comparison of the key elements that affect seismic detection of reservoirs.

Work will involve reprocessing seismic and integrating it with petrophysical data, well logs, and production information.

Colorado

Exploratory drilling could resume this year in the San Luis basin.

A four company group sought permits to drill on the Baca Grant Ranch on the basin's northeastern margin. Hyperion Resources Corp., Vancouver, B.C., Adrian Resources, and IMC Resources have joined with struggling Lexam Explorations Inc. of Toronto and are preparing to drill in Saguache County (OGJ, Sept. 1, 1997, p. 78).

On the basin's northwest side a 1999 well in 23-1n-72w, Costilla County, was unsuccessful.

Nevada

The state had 15 oil fields on production during April 2000, including 10 in Nye County, four in Eureka County, and one in Elko County.

Cumulative production is 46.4 million bbl of oil since the initial discovery, Eagle Springs, in 1954. The most recent find, Sand Dune, went on line in July 1998.

Tennessee

Columbia Natural Resources Inc., Charleston, W.Va., staked a wildcat to Cambrian Rome in Campbell County.

The 823959 Begley Lumber Co., 3 miles west of Newcomb, is projected to 8,800 ft. The spot is about 50 miles west of Swan Creek oil and gas field in Hancock County.

Texas

West
Santa Fe Snyder Corp., Houston, plans to press development of Lost Peak field, Howard County, in which it recently completed a 6-mile extension well.

Development is to continue on 160-acre and 80-acre spacing. Plans call for drilling of 15 development wells and 3 exploratory wells by yearend 2000 and as many as 50 wells in the area in 2001.

The 1 Sellers 119 well cut 115 ft of gross pay in Cisco Canyon sandstones with productive gas shows over a 200-ft interval. The company is developing the same formation 6 miles northwest in Signal Peak field.

Gross operated production from Signal Peak field was 25 MMcfd of gas and 1,300 bo/d in July.