Cyclic steam pilot under way in Colombia

Jan. 18, 2007
Kappa Energy Colombia Ltd., private Calgary operator, and Black Rock Oil & Gas PLC, London, began cyclic steaming in Arce field in the Middle Magdalena basin in October 2006.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 18 -- Kappa Energy Colombia Ltd., private Calgary operator, and Black Rock Oil & Gas PLC, London, began cyclic steaming in Arce field in the Middle Magdalena basin in October 2006.

Arce field, analogous to and just south of a steam project in Chicala oil field, is believed to contain 2.5-8 million bbl of recoverable 13° gravity oil in Tertiary Mugrosa sandstones at 2,700 ft. Term of the steam pilot is 6 months.

The field, discovered in 1984, appears on recent seismic surveys to be much larger than originally thought.

Arce is on the 249,000-acre Las Quinchas Block, traversed by an oil pipeline that extends 80 km northeast to state Ecopetrol's 205,000 b/d Barrancabermeja refinery.

If declared commercial and developed, Arce field could peak at as much as 3,200 b/d of oil after 3 years, Black Rock said.

The companies plan to spud the Acacia Este exploration well shortly on a structure south of Arce.