Colombia's Capella due further development

Dec. 15, 2009
Emerald Energy PLC, a unit of Sinochem Group, and Canacol Energy Ltd., Calgary, has a $41.5 million program to further develop the Capella heavy oil discovery in 2010 in Colombia’s Caguan-Putumayo basin.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 15
-- Emerald Energy PLC, a unit of Sinochem Group, and Canacol Energy Ltd., Calgary, has a $41.5 million program to further develop the Capella heavy oil discovery in 2010 in Colombia’s Caguan-Putumayo basin.

Capella’s size is still being determined. Canacol Energy, through a farmout from Emerald Energy, earned a 10% working interest in the Ombu exploration and production contract area by drilling the Capella-1 discovery well in July 2008. It participated in six successful wells in 2008-09.

In 2009, Canacol Energy secured 1.2 million acres of exploration acreage at 100% working interest adjacent to the discovery.

Canacol Energy’s 2010 plans include drilling four appraisal wells, including Romero-1 to appraise the northeast part of the discovery and one horizontal well in the southwest part of the area, starting in the first quarter of 2010. It will drill three vertical or horizontal development wells starting in the third quarter.

Canacol Energy will start a steam injection pilot at one existing well in the first quarter and shoot 100 sq km of 3D seismic in the third quarter.

In the first quarter the company will start construction of an early production facility to handle 2,000 b/d of fluid, lay flow lines, and upgrade roads and bridges. It will drill a disposal well in the third quarter.

Canacol Energy plans to formulate a full field development plan by the end of 2010 from the 3D data, well performance, and steaming results.

Canacol Energy also plans to shoot 2,240 km of gravity and magnetic surveys on its 100% owned Pacarana technical evaluation area and shoot 60 line-km of 2D seismic on the Tamarin exploration and production contract area.