Argentina
Argenta Oil & Gas Inc., Toronto, said the first well on its 100% owned Loma El Divisadero Block in Argentina’s Neuquen basin found 19° gravity oil in the Chorreado member of the Cretaceous Huitrin formation.
The well flowed at undisclosed rates without treatment.
The LEDO x-2 exploration well went to TD 5,294 ft and cut 197 ft of gross thickness in three packages of fine to very fine sandstone and log porosities averaging 18% with resistivities that suggest high oil saturation, the company said.
The company is reviewing recent 3D seismic data to determine the size of the hydrocarbon pool and examining options to improve production rates, including a sand frac.
The company’s geologist and geophysicist said velocity log interpretation indicates that the hydrocarbon accumulation goes beyond the previously interpreted structural play and may be part of a larger stratigraphic play.
Argenta is completing three other exploration wells that were cased.
New Zealand
Maari, at 50 million bbl recoverable New Zealand’s largest undeveloped offshore field, has a further 37 million bbl of potential in the general area, said a participant in the field.
Maari field, operated by OMV AG in the Taranaki basin, could have 12 million bbl recoverable in the M2A sands above the main Miocene Moki sands structure in Maari field and 25 million bbl recoverable in the Manaia structure 10 km southwest of Maari, said Horizon Oil Ltd., Sydney.
Manaia could work as a subsea tieback to Maari.
The Maari partners plan to appraise Manaia and the M2A zone in mid-2008.
Maari field is expected to go on production in this year’s third quarter and reach full output in 2009.
Philippines
Galoc Production Co. pronounced the Galoc-3 development well ready to connect to the field’s FPSO after it flow-tested at a constrained, stabilized 5,200 b/d of oil.
Commercial oil production is to start in April 2008 at a higher flow rate based on analysis of the pressure data during the cleanup flow period, said 18.28% interest owner Otto Energy Ltd., Perth.
The rig is being moved to Galoc-4 to ready it for production. The FPSO is to arrive in March. A gross production rate of more than 15,000 b/d is expected.
Thailand
GFI Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, has drilled and logged two development wells at Bualuang oil field in the western subbasin of the Gulf of Thailand.
The first development well, Bualuang 05, cut 21 m of net pay with porosity averaging 29% and 809 md average permeability as indicated by preliminary core analysis.
The pay interval is at 3,700 ft in 150 ft of water.
Bualuang 01 went to 1,270 m TVD and cut 20 m of net pay. Logs indicate average porosity of 27%. The well was not cored.
The Rubicon Vantage FPSO is expected on location by late March, and development drilling will continue until mid-April. Sun Oil Co. discovered the field in 1992.
GFI’s interest is 60%, and SOCO International Inc. has 40%.
Ukraine
The Kashtan Petroleum Joint Venture plans to spud a second development well in Lelyaki oil field in east-central Ukraine in the second quarter of 2008.
The directional No. 307 well is to go to 1,960 m to further develop the P1 and 2 and K1 reservoirs. Recently drilled offsets came on at more than 240 b/d of 42° gravity oil, said Shelton Canada Ltd., Calgary. Shelton and Ukraine’s state Ukrnafta make up the Kashtan venture.
Kashtan, which is using infill wells to exploit Lelyaki’s remaining reserves, also plans to reenter and sidetrack four other suspended wells in the field this year. The first well has averaged 185 b/d since coming on production in December 2007 (OGJ, Sept. 4, 1995, p. 42).
Arizona
Enhanced Oil Resources Inc., Houston, said the 10-2-30 well in St. Johns helium-carbon dioxide field in Apache County stabilized at 3.1 MMcfd of CO2, with 390 psi flowing tubing pressure, the highest flow rate achieved in the field to date.
The well, which made the flow from the Granite Wash and fractured basement, was air drilled with a larger hole size, and test equipment restricted the flow rate.
A larger test unit was moved in. The well also had 120 ft of potential gas pay in the Amos Wash zone.
The 12-34-29 well near the northwest edge of the field was being redrilled after encountering a high-pressure gas zone above the regional seal. The significance of the new potential pay zone is uncertain, the company said.
A third rig has spud the 12-31-30 well 3 miles east of the 12-34-29 well.
Pennsylvania
Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, said its leasehold in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Devonian Marcellus shale gas play totals 1.1 million net acres, 650,000 acres of which could be prospective, and leasing continues.
Resource potential on the prospective acreage totals 10 to 15 tcf equivalent.
The company’s 2008 program calls for drilling 60 shale wells in Pennsylvania, 40 of which will be horizontal. The company has drilled 15 horizontal wells to date, 11 of which have been completed with initial producing rates of previously announced horizontal wells ranging from 1.4 to 4.7 MMcfd of gas equivalent. Two 2008 horizontal completions flowed 4.7 and 4 MMcfd.
