Aussie-UK JV spuds CBM well in eastern France

Aug. 10, 2006
A 75-25% joint venture of European Gas (operator) and Heritage Petroleum spud its first well on the Bleue Lorraine CBM permit in eastern France near the German border (OGJ, Mar. 6, 2006, p. 46).

Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent

PARIS, Aug. 10 -- A 75-25% joint venture of European Gas Ltd. (operator), Alfred Cove, Western Australia, and Heritage Petroleum PLC, London, has spud its first well on the Bleue Lorraine coalbed methane (CBM) permit in eastern France near the German border (OGJ, Mar. 6, 2006, p. 46).

The Forschviller St 1 well, 850 m from Forschviller, is the initial core well of a 2-well program. The next hole will be drilled at Diebling, 45 km northwest of the first site. Gilbert Clark, manager of the group's French affiliate, told OGJ the program should take 10-12 weeks to complete.

Clark said the planned TD is 1,300 m, with three major pockets of coal targeted for intersection at 870-1,300 m. The main target is CBM in the Wesphalian D and C sequences. Structural and research analysis will be carried out on each core, Clark said.

The budgeted program cost is €2.8 million, including a 20% contingency. Cofor, Maisse, France, is carrying out the drilling "using equipment fitted to the new drilling methods, which we will employ to capture a 96-98% pure methane," Clark elaborated.

Deutsche Montan Technologies of Essen, Germany, is conducting wireline logging, and Geo-RS of Parigny, France, is providing mud-logging services.

The program is in preparation for developing the large gas-in-place resource, which totals 28.1 billion cu m contained within some 7% of the JV's permit area.

Initial development will involve drilling two subsequent underbalanced, lateral production wells in early 2007, alternatively at Folschviller and Diebling over a 3-month period each.

The initial development wells will each drain areas where the energy density exceeds 400 million cu m/sq km of methane measured in coals shallower than 1,500 m. Dewatering is expected to be minimal, as the Westphalian sequences in the Lorraine Basin are not water saturated.

European Gas farmed in to the Heritage Petroleum CBM permits that comprise Bleue Lorraine, Gaz de Saint Etienne in southern France, Gaz de Gardanne in the southeast, and Lons-Le-Saunier near the Swiss border.