By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 12 -- DNO ASA, Oslo, said its Tawke-1 exploration well in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq discovered 100 million bbl of recoverable oil in a single zone using a 30% recovery factor.
The unspecified shallow discovery zone flowed 5,000 b/d of good quality oil, a rate restricted by test equipment.
Of six intervals tested, two were found to contain formation water (OGJ Online, Mar. 24, 2006). Two deep and two shallow intervals tested oil, but reserve estimates were not made for the other three. Only one of the shallower zones achieved a commercial flow rate. Production is to start in the first quarter of 2007.
The other indicated oil bearing intervals are assumed to have been damaged by drilling fluid and have cement behind casing that restricted oil flow. Several repair attempts failed to improve the flow rates, and two other potential oil bearing intervals in the shallower section were not tested.
The company recovered good quality oil from all of the oil-bearing intervals tested.
DNO plans to drill Tawke-1A, a twin well 20 m away, through the shallower reservoir intervals penetrated at Tawke-1. Then it will drill Tawke-2, a 2-km west step-out.
Acquisition of 204 sq km of 3D seismic in the Tawke area began in May, and a second rig is to start drilling in July.
