By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 27 -- Ithaca Energy (UK) Ltd. entered into an agreement with Senergy Ltd. to use the Stena Spey semisubmersible and drilling management services to drill the second appraisal well on the Athena oil project in the Outer Moray Firth off Scotland.
Drilling is scheduled to begin in late August and is part of a work program leading up to a field development plan expected to be filed in this year's fourth quarter.
Well objectives are to evaluate the eastern lobe of the Athena discovery, for which probable undeveloped oil reserves have been independently verified at 28 million bbl (20 million bbl net to Ithaca).
Ithaca will spud the well close to the mapped northern pinch-out of the Cretaceous Upper Leek formation. The well site is midway between the 14/18b-11 well, which encountered good reservoir in the Upper Leek below the oil-water contact, and the 14/18b-12 well, which encountered tight reservoir in the Upper Leek sands but had an oil-leg in the Lower Leek sands (OGJ Online, Nov. 30, 2006).
Recent results of seismic processing following the drilling of the 14/18b-15 well have confirmed the selection of the bottomhole location for the planned well, which is designed to be kept as a production well and is located in a position to optimally drain the eastern part of Athena field.
Ithaca had expected to drill this well with the Byford Dolphin semisubmersible this summer, but it has been delayed due to operational, scheduling, and weather-related issues on its current program (OGJ Online, Apr. 2, 2007).
Ithaca has decided to delay taking on the Byford Dolphin semisubmersible until later this year to allow the Stena Spey to begin the Athena work as soon as possible, the company said.
