Algeria
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd., London, established a stabilized oil flow at HEK-3, a 2004 Sonatrach oil and gas discovery on Djebel Bottena Block 129 in the Southeast Constantine basin.
Sonatrach’s initial tests achieved a flow after acid treatment of 184 bbl of oil in 4 hr from a Coniacian limestone.
On re-entry by Gulf Keystone, the same interval at 2,439-46 m after acid-frac stabilized at 1,040 b/d of 31° gravity oil on a 32/64-in. choke. The well then made 3,500 bbl of oil in 4.5 days with a gas-oil ratio of 93 scf/bbl.
Gulf Keystone will consider installing a pump and is analyzing early development based on what appears to be a commercial production rate. Gulf Keystone has 75% interest and operates Block 129. Sonatrach has 25%.
Djebel Onk oil field is on the block but excluded. The block also contains the Djebel Foua gas discovery.
Chile
The government gave final approval to contracts with March Resources Corp., Calgary, to operate two oil and gas prospective blocks in the nonproducing Tamarugal basin.
March plans to begin work immediately on the Pica North and South blocks totaling 2.5 million acres where it plans to spud the first well in September 2007.
California Oil & Gas Corp., Calgary, has an agreement to explore the blocks jointly with March Resources.
Iran
National Iranian Oil Co. reported two giant oil discoveries in Iran but gave few details, press reports said.
One of the discoveries is named Paranj. The other, name not disclosed, is north of Abadan near Ab Teymour oil field.
Libya
A group led by Repsol YPF SA has begun appraising two light oil discoveries on Block NC 200 in the Murzuk basin 1,000 km south of Tripoli.
The E1 well tested 589 b/d of oil, and G1 flowed 334 b/d from undisclosed formations. They are the first commercial discoveries on the contract area, less than 100 km west-southwest of giant El Sharara oil field on Block NC 186. El Sharara, producing 200,000 b/d of oil, is one of seven discoveries on Block 186. Repsol operates Block 200 with 21% interest. Libya National Oil Corp. has 65%, and OMV AG has 14%. OMV produces 31,500 b/d of oil in Libya.
Russia
Matra Petroleum PLC, Chertsey, UK, let a contract to OOO Orenburg Drilling Co. to drill a well on the Sokolovskaya prospect on the northern part of the 158-sq-km Arkhangelovskoe exploration license. Projected to 3,900 m at a cost of $4.5 million, the well is to spud in late July 2007. The location is 35 km north of supergiant Orenburg gas field.
The prospect is a well-defined four-way dip structure defined by recent seismic. The well targets four Devonian reservoirs and Carboniferous and Permian reservoirs known to be productive on nearby licenses.
Prince Edward Island
Corridor Resources Inc., Halifax, NS, has an option to fund and drill an exploratory well to 2,800 m on 176,000-acre EL 02-03 on eastern Prince Edward Island under a farmout agreement with PetroWorth Resources Inc., Calgary.
The companies will exchange proprietary seismic data on PetroWorth’s EL 02-03 license on PEI and Corridor’s Rosevale and Elgin properties in New Brunswick. Corridor also has the option to take a farmout on EL 02-03.
Under the farmout, Corridor must decide by Aug. 12 whether to drill the well and spud by Feb. 1, 2008. If it drills, Corridor will have the option to drill two more exploratory wells by Oct. 1, 2008, to be funded 50-50. Corridor would earn a 50% working interest in the license and wells by drilling three wells. The agreement also gives Corridor the option to fund, drill, and complete two wells on four other PetroWorth PEI licenses totaling 250,000 acres to earn a 50% working interest in those licenses.
Illinois
Noble Energy Inc., Houston, plans to drill 16 wells to Devonian New Albany shale in the Illinois basin in the rest of 2007 and increase the capacity of its production facilities there.
The company plans to employ a second rig starting in June. It has drilled six wells since August 2006. Production began in March 2007, and the wells are still cleaning up but early results are encouraging, the company said in early May.
The game plan is to build strong returns at $1.2 million/well by drilling to 2,500 ft vertically and then 2,000-4,000 ft horizontally. The goal is to obtain producing rates of at least 800 Mcfd-1 MMcfd/well. Noble Energy has acquired more than 60,000 acres in the play since late 2005.
Louisiana
Universal Energy Corp., Orlando, Fla., plans to participate with Yuma Exploration & Production Co., Houston, in drilling the Lake Campo 3D seismic prospect in the Middle Miocene Trend in Plaquemines Parish.
The prospect has 10 Miocene-age sand objectives to proposed TD of 10,500 ft. Drilling is to start within 60 days.
Oklahoma
Bankers Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, is exploring the Devonian Woodford shale in southern and southeastern Oklahoma.
The company is drilling Greenway 35-1H, a horizontal offset to the Nickel Hill 1-26 discovery well in Carter County at which the initial potential was 470 Mcfd of gas. A second horizontal Woodford shale well is to be drilled 10 miles away in Johnston County.
Bankers and a partner are acquiring 115 sq miles of 3D seismic surveys in Carter and Johnston counties.
Bankers also plans to drill a horizontal Woodford shale test by the end of the third quarter in Hughes County. Its Lake Holdenville 35-1 well was disappointing, but a frac may not have effectively stimulated the shale, the company said. A 2.5-mile offshoot, however, had an initial production rate of 330 Mcfd after stimulation.
Washington
Torrent Energy Corp., Portland, Ore., spudded the first of three planned exploratory wells at its Vader Ryderwood coalbed methane project in the Chehalis basin of southwestern Washington 25 miles northeast of Mist gas field in Columbia County, Ore.
Torrent holds acreage in Lewis, Cowlitz, and Skamania counties, Wash.
The company intends to establish a large CBM resource in relatively shallow coals and investigate sandstone reservoirs similar to those that produce in Mist field. The first well, Cascadia Energy Corp. State 3-36-13-3, is projected to 3,000 ft. Individual coals will be cored and gas content determined from desorption tests. The companies are permitting wells in the adjoining Cedar Creek project area.