GeoPark tests wildcat's oil on Chile's Fell block

July 16, 2008
GeoPark Holdings Ltd. discovered an oil field in Chile's Fell block following drilling and testing at its Aonikenk 1 exploration well.

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, July 16 -- GeoPark Holdings Ltd. discovered an oil field in Chile's Fell block following drilling and testing at its Aonikenk 1 exploration well.

GeoPark said a production test in the Springhill formation at 2,270 m in a 5-m perforated interval, flowed without stimulation. GeoPark of Hamilton, Bermuda, said the rates were about 1,201 b/d of oil, 1.2 MMcfd of gas, and 1,465 b/d of water through a 12-mm choke and with a wellhead pressure of 896 psi.

"These are preliminary results following a 6 day production test, and further production history will be required to determine stabilized flow rates from this well and the extent of the reservoir," GeoPark said.

It said 30° gravity oil is transported via trucks to a tank facility near the Fell Block, and engineering is under way to construct the necessary processing and sales facilities.

GeoPark said geological and geophysical interpretations "suggest the opportunity for further development drilling in the Aonikenk field, and a new drilling location has been selected to be drilled in fourth-quarter 2008."

According to CEO James F. Park, "The Aonikenk oil discovery also opens up a new potential oil region in the northeast portion of the Fell Block, which will be further developed and explored with additional drilling this year."

In June, GeoPark discovered two new gas fields, with wells Nika Oeste-3 and Bump Hill-1, on the Fell Block. The Nika Oeste-3 well was drilled to 3,023 m TD and at at 2,960 m produced test flow rates of 133,089 cu m/day of gas, 70 b/d of condensate, and 14 b/d of water.

At a different geological structure, GeoPark's Bump Hill-1 well was drilled to 2,979 m TD. This well produced test flow rates of 25,485 cu m/day of gas plus small quantities of condensate and water.

GeoPark said that the preliminary results needed further testing to determine stabilized flow rates and the size of the reservoir.

Last December, GeoPark Holdings reported success at the San Miguel-1 exploration well on the 440,000-acre Fell Block. The well, on a structure defined in GeoPark's 2006-07 3D seismic program, gauged 3 MMcfd of gas, 65 b/d of condensate, and 35 b/d of water from Cretaceous Springhill at 3,020 m through a 10-mm choke with 980 psi wellhead pressure (OGJ Dec. 21, 2007, p. 34).

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected]