Italy
Mediterranean Oil & Gas PLC will precisely assess the contingent and prospective oil and gas resources on the BR 269 GC permit in the Adriatic Sea off Italy.
Consulting engineers certified the proved and probable recoverable oil volumes at the Obrina Mare oil and gas discovery at 20 million bbl, four times the previously estimated level. These volumes relate only to that part of the field appraised by the horizontal OM-2 well in May 2008.
The permit, in which the company holds 100% interest, is in 20 m of water adjacent to Italy’s central coast west of giant Rospo Mare heavy oil field (OGJ, Apr. 2, 2007, p. 34). The permit has a number of other oil prospects and gas leads.
The company was technically unable to test the Pliocene gas sands it found in OM-2 above the oil-bearing carbonate reservoir. OM-2 flowed 900-1,000 b/d of 17° gravity oil from the Pliocene carbonate.
The gas sands correlated well with intervals that flowed 5.3-6.7 MMcfd of gas in the 1987 OM-1 discovery well, and the company believes the gas could be used in part to facilitate oil development.
OM-2 is the first offshore well operated by a junior oil and gas company in Italian waters in more than 25 years.
Tunisia
Winstar Resources Ltd., Calgary, finished shooting 401 sq km of 3D seismic covering the entire Chouech Essaida and Ech Chouech concessions in southern Tunisia.
Two rigs are under contract with one to spud by late September and the other by yearend.
A 50-mile, 6-in., 15 MMscfd pipeline to move gas from Chouech Essaida to the El Borma field sales point is to be in service by January 2009.
The Chouech Essaida-9 development well is to spud in the first week of July to tap behind-pipe zones in the adjacent No. 1 well, flowing 315 b/d of oil.
Production at the No. 8 well has increased from an initially demonstrated 119 b/d in late March to 260 b/d of 41° gravity oil and has made 19,000 bbl as of June 18. It is to be recompleted in the third quarter from the current zone and another interval that tested 391 b/d on the original completion.
Nova Scotia
Triangle Petroleum Corp. and private Zodiac Exploration Corp., both of Calgary, will drill as many as six delineation wells on the 516,000-acre Windsor block in the Maritimes basin in Nova Scotia.
The program is the second phase of Triangle’s three-phase strategy for developing gas from shale in eastern Canada.
Zodiac is to pay 50% of drilling costs, up to $7.5 million, to earn a 12.5% working interest in the block. Within 30 days of fulfilling the expenditure commitment, Zodiac has the option to commit another $7.5 million for a further 12.5% working interest.
Based on Zodiac’s spending the entire $15 million, Triangle would remain with a 45% working interest and continue as operator, while Zodiac would have earned a 25% working interest in the block.
The first well is to spud in late July as a 10,000-ft vertical test to target the deeper and considerably thicker shale package in an undrilled fault block north of Triangle’s first two vertical test wells.
Later wells are to test the gas content and productive potential of the Horton Bluff shales and evaluate possible overlying conventional oil and gas reservoirs. At least one horizontal well is expected to be drilled.
