Facilities under way for Falcon basin gas

Aug. 18, 2005
PetroFalcon Corp., Carpinteria, Calif., said its Vinccler Oil & Gas CA subsidiary is building production and processing facilities capable of handling 20 MMcfd of gas and 5,000 b/d of oil at La Vela field in northern Venezuela's Falcon basin.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 18 -- PetroFalcon Corp., Carpinteria, Calif., said its Vinccler Oil & Gas CA subsidiary is building production and processing facilities capable of handling 20 MMcfd of gas and 5,000 b/d of oil at La Vela field in northern Venezuela's Falcon basin.

PetroFalcon expects to start gas sales from La Vela into Petroleos de Venezuela SA's 30-in. ICO gas pipeline in late October 2005 and from Cumarebo field in late 2005 or early 2006. The pipeline is to deliver gas to Paraguana Peninsula refineries.

PetroFalcon also began production testing the LV-9 and LV-10 wells drilled in 2005 and the previously drilled LV-7X well. It plans to resume drilling in Cumarebo and La Vela fields in the fourth quarter of 2005.

LV-7X flowed 5.5 MMcfd of gas and 210 b/d of oil from Miocene Pedregoso perforations at 6,804-6,958 ft on a ½-in. choke with 1,200 psi flowing tubing pressure.

LV-9 indicated production capability in excess of 300 b/d of oil from Miocene Agua Clara perforations at 3,885-3,964 ft. Agua Clara at 3,694-3,754 ft remains to be tested.

An early test at LV-10 of a 107-ft interval in Pedregoso at 7,280-7,612 ft indicated a production rate of 360 b/d of oil and 1 MMcfd of gas with 280 psi flowing tubing pressure.

LV-10 is expected to add a large number of new oil and gas development locations, PetroFalcon said. Completion will continue on more than 144 net ft of apparent pay in the Miocene Pedregoso, Socorro, and Caujarao formations, where logs suggest better quality zones remain to be tested.