Cairn reports Greenland exploratory progress

Cairn Energy PLC reported that initial geochemical analysis of background gas composition indicates the encouraging presence of Pretertiary oil-prone source rocks in the basin near an exploratory well that it plans to plug and abandon on the Lady Franklin block in the South Ungavva area off southwestern Greenland.

Cairn is preparing to plug the LF7-1 well in 1,002 m of water 300 km off Nuuk. The well reached target depth in basement strata. It encountered a thick Upper Cretaceous section with tight (cemented) sandstones, and the anticipated stratigraphically deeper reservoir section was absent at this location. The Ocean Rig Corcovado is abandoning the LF7-1 well.

Elsewhere in the South Ungavva area, the Leiv Eriksson rig has temporarily suspended the AT7-1 exploratory well on the Atammik block in 909 m of water 200 km off Nuuk. The well is suspended above the prognosed target objectives and scheduled to be reentered and drilled to planned TD later in the current program.

With the opening of the weather window in the Disko area, Cairn moved the Leiv Eriksson 750 km north to spud a well on the Delta prospect in the Napariaq block, optimizing the program. It spud the Delta-1 well in 293 m of water 100 km offshore and 110 km northeast of the Alpha-1S1 well drilled by Cairn on the Sigguk block in 2010.

Ocean Rig Corcovado will drill the Gamma prospect on the Eqqua block in the West Disko area in 1,520 m of water 110 km southwest of the Alpha-1S1 well after the rig abandons LF7-1.