By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 11 -- Ithaca Energy Inc., Calgary, has begun running production casing in its Athena 14/18b-15 well drilled to a TD of 11,051 ft in the Outer Moray Firth area of the UK North Sea.
The casing will be perforated for testing, which is expected to require about 9 days and will start while the rig is on location. If tests results are successful, the well will be suspended for production.
Well 14/18b-15, drilled at an angle of 60° from vertical, intersected 632 ft of gross oil-bearing Lower Cretaceous Upper Leek sands. It encountered the reservoir 50 vertical ft higher than the nearby 14/18-7 well, which tested 850 b/d of oil.
Electric logs and other 14/18b-15 well data, including a 32 ft core that was recovered, indicate that the reservoir parameters as observed are of higher quality than that of the 14/18-7 well. Also, they revealed that this interval contains 253 ft (127 ft vertical) of net porous oil-bearing sands. Porosities in the oil column range from 12% to 20% with an average of 16.5%.
Gemini Oil & Gas Fund II has provided Ithaca with $6 million for the drilling of the well in return for a gross revenue interest ranging from 3.86% to 1.29% against Ithaca's interest.
Ithaca is the operator of the license with a 70% interest. EWE AG has a 20% interest and Zeus Petroleum Ltd. (formerly Wimbledon Oil & Gas), 10%.
