Pogo tests successful natural gas well in Hungary

Dec. 4, 2003
Pogo Producing Co. reported the successful flow-testing of the company's Szolnok No. 2 natural gas well (also known as Pogo Orm-K-1 well) in Hungary.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 4 -- Pogo Producing Co. reported the successful flow-testing of the company's Szolnok No. 2 natural gas well (also known as Pogo Orm-K-1 well) in Hungary.

The well is the third to be drilled in the area by the Houston-based independent but the first to be flow-tested.

Szolnok No. 2, which was drilled to 7,372 ft TD, tested at 14.2 MMcfd of gas and 150 b/d of condensate with 3,326 psi flowing tubing pressure throught a 28/64-in. choke. The well found a 200 ft gross gas pay column, yielding net pay of at least 90 ft, at subsurface depths of 6,836-7,124 ft, Pogo said.

"The pay sections contained high quality hydrocarbon natural gas with minimal (less than 10%) inert components in the natural gas stream. The discovery well encountered good porosity and permeability in a structural feature measuring about 1,100 acres in size," Pogo reported.

In the next several months, more wells will be drilled to fully develop the discovery area, said Pogo Chairman Paul G. Van Wagenen. "This drilling success vindicates our scientific analysis of this particular Miocene-marine prospect type. In exploration, not every prospect type will work. However, when one play type proves to be successful, as this one apparently is, it prompts us to identify geologically similar exploratory prospects which can be drilled across our large license area," he said.

Pogo first drilled Szolnok No. 1 and Tompa No. 1 wells in the area. Before drilling its latest well, subsurface casing was run on each of the first wells. Pogo is seeking a smaller completion rig "while the company examines the possibility of conducting fracture stimulation or flow-testing on one or both of those two wells," the company said.

"Meanwhile, the principal drilling rig will return to Pogo's Tompa license area to drill the next exploratory well in Pogo's previously established exploration drilling program, which was designed to evaluate a variety of different play types," Pogo said.

Pogo is the operator and holds 100% working interest in the entire 782,000 acre Szolnok-Tompa license areas located in central and southern Hungary.