By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 18 -- A Calgary independent has signed joint operating agreements on seven play areas for exploration mostly west and south of supergiant Prudhoe Bay and giant Kuparuk River oil fields.
Some of the agreements relate to areas near the Cronus-1 exploratory well, which Pioneer Natural Resources Corp., Dallas, said in April is an indicated oil discovery.
Pioneer's 90%-owned Cronus-1 well, planned to test multiple objectives just west of Meltwater field, encountered a Cretaceous Torok sequence, its primary objective, similar to that productive at Meltwater. The well penetrated a thick, oil-bearing sand section in the Torok and a thin, oil-bearing sand in the Jurassic-aged Kuparuk C, Pioneer said.
Pioneer was analyzing wireline and core data and integrating them with 3D seismic data "to determine if appraisal activities are warranted during the 2006-07 winter drilling season."
ConocoPhillips 63% and Pioneer 32% spudded a well in April on the Antigua prospect adjacent to Kuparuk River field.
Cronus is near and on trend geologically to acreage involved in the seven play areas now subject to joint operating agreements between TG World Energy Corp., Calgary, and Brooks Range Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of Alaska Venture Capital Group LLC.
The joint venture has an interest in 12,348 gross acres in Cronus prospect leases, the nearest of which is 3 km north of the Cronus well. It also has 24,840 gross acres on the Itkillik River prospect, the nearest of which is 2 km south and southwest of Cronus.
The joint venture also has an interest in 31,696 gross acres on the Ocean Point prospect, 24,840 gross acres on the Titania prospect, and 30,651 gross acres at the Whiskey Gulch prospect, all on the central North Slope. All are oil prospects near infrastructure.
TG World said the Cronus well "increases the areal extent of the known oil charge in the emerging Beaufortian and Brookian fairways in this area."
The joint venture said its 2006 program involves identifying drillable prospects for the coming three winter seasons.
