Switzerland exploration may resume

Patrick H. Lahusen
SEAG
Geneva

Switzerland has a large molasse basin between Lakes Constance and Geneva, squeezed in from the west by the Jura Mountains and from the east by the Alps (Fig. 1)[74161 bytes].

SEAG is a privately held company in which Shell (Switzerland), Exxon (Switz- erland), Swiss gas gathering company Swissgas, the Canton of Berne, and myself as vice-chairman hold a majority.

SEAG has negotiated a joint venture agreement with Anschutz Corp., Denver, and this agreement should be signed within weeks. It foresees a study period of about one year to give our new partner time to work on all our data.

Hopefully afterwards a new exploration campaign in Switzerland should start.

Exploration history

Switzerland is also covered with a grid of seismic lines of different vintages (Fig. 2) [51285 bytes]. The total length of these lines is about 10,000 miles.

Since 1912, 35 wells have been drilled for oil and gas, 19 of them in the last 38 years (Fig. 1). Eighty percent of these 19 wells had oil and/or gas shows, but only one was placed on production (OGJ, June 7, 1993, p. 52). Fig. 3 [53323 bytes] shows a cross-section through the molasse basin.

The locations of the wells appear to be spread uniformly over the country. That can be explained by the fact that mineral rights in Switzerland are in the hands of the 26 cantons, and in each permit you are forced after a certain time to drill a well.

The only gas discovery, Entlebuch-1, produced about 2.6 bcf of an high quality gas in 10 years. It was abandoned in 1994.

Why exploration waned

The decline of oil and gas prices on one side and the U.S. dollar on the other, coupled with a high risk factor and high drilling costs-the cost of the last well Thun-1 with a depth of approximately 19,500 ft was more than $18 million-stopped the former Swisspetrol group's activity.

Swisspetrol, of which I was president, spent in its 35 years of existence about $220 million with its chief partners BEB from Germany, Elf Aquitaine from France, and Shell-Switzerland.

In 1994 the whole group of 12 companies was dismantled by selling two of them (now not active), liquidating nine, and leaving only one company, SEAG, with all exploration data, in a position for a possible restart of exploration.

But this is not the end of the story.

Activity returning

The combination of high dependence on imported energy, the results of wells drilled with all the oil and/or gas shows, new drilling technologies, and production possibilities in low porosity reservoirs, should be reasons enough to restart.

If you combine this technology for instance with the knowledge of several existing Permo-Carboniferous troughs with coal seams of approximately 100 ft, you might share my optimism that technology transfer to Switzerland is needed.

People like the well-known geologist Robert M. Sneider from Houston came to the conclusion, after a study of our data, that Switzerland has a high potential for gas production and that instead of hopping around with further wildcats, it would be more advisable to select sites in the explored areas where those low porosity reservoirs could be drilled with new drilling technologies as has been done in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere.

Resurgence possible

With this in mind SEAG has decided to restart exploration in Switzerland, but we need partners.

To get everything ready SEAG has requested last year several new permits in Switzerland and should get them within weeks.

Fig. 4 [40471 bytes] shows the original SEAG-area in northeastern Switzerland, the new requested areas in the cantons of Lucerne, Berne, and Fribourg, and in gray the areas in which SEAG has access to the data. Three other permits are in the hands of two former Swisspetrol companies, and with the third and very tiny one (FREAG) we have a good relationship.

Adapted from the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers annual meeting keynote address May 28, 1997, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Publication

The Geology and Hydrocarbon Resources of Negara Brunei Darussalam; 1996 Revision, edited by S.T. Sandal, available from XGL/0, Brunei Shell Petroleum Co., Seria 7082, Brunei Darussalam. 243 p., $45 plus shipping. E-mail: [email protected]

This book on Brunei's hydrocarbon geology was first published in 1984 jointly by Brunei Shell Petroleum and the Brunei Museum.

The 1996 revision follows the flow of the original book and has been extensively updated and rewritten. It includes new thinking in regional geology and structure, sequence stratigraphy, deepwater sedimentation, overpressures, and hydrocarbon habitat. Detailed descriptions of the main producing fields have been updated and extended wherever necessary.

Alberta

Amber Energy Inc., Calgary, claims an additional 114 million bbl of proven and probable heavy oil reserves in the Pelican Lake area, about 155 miles north of Edmonton. Outtrim Szabo Associates, Calgary, made the independent estimate.

Amber plans to increase its Pelican Lake production within three or four years to about 40,000 b/d from a current 4,000 b/d. The company says it will develop the area with horizontal wells and hopes to drill about 80 wells/year starting in late 1998.

The area is noted for high quality heavy oil that can be produced at relatively low cost by conventional means. Amber put its costs at $2.50/bbl.

A provincial land sale at the end of May attracted a record $62 million bid for 75 sections of land in the area. The buyer was not disclosed, although Amoco Canada Petroleum Ltd., CS Resources Ltd. (being pursued by Gulf Canada Resources Ltd.), and Alberta Energy Ltd. are active nearby.

Amber has spent $68.5 million to date. The engineering report said an additional $189.7 million would be needed to fully develop Amber's Pelican Lake holdings.

Alaska

Minerals Management Service is evaluating June 11 bids by Forcenergy Inc., Miami, Fla., for two Cook Inlet tracts.

The company bid $137,936.96 for blocks 6113B and 6114B and $116,029.73 for blocks 6163B and 6213C. The four block cover a combined 9,766 acres. MMS offered nearly 430,000 acres on 101 whole or partial blocks.

Mississippi

Denbury Management Inc., Dallas, completed a horizontal well in Eucutta field of Wayne County.

The H1 Leggett 35-8, in 35-10n-9w, pumped 742 b/d of 30° gravity oil and 254 b/d of water from the Christmas sand of Upper Cretaceous Eutaw at 5,238-41 ft TVD, reports Southeastern Oil Review, Jackson.

Denbury also cased a horizontal well and permitted two others in Sandersville low gravity oil field, Jones County, and has run liner at a horizontal Cotton Valley well in Quitman oil field, Clarke County.

TexStar Petroleum LLC, Houston, reopened Reedy Creek field Jurassic Smackover production in Jones County.

The 1 Board of Education 16-3, in 16-9n-11w, flowed 1,061 b/d of oil with 756 Mcfd of gas on a 16/64 in. choke with 1,025 psi FTP and 300 psi CP from perforations at 14,494-950 ft, the Review reported.

Nebraska

Anschutz Exploration Corp., Denver, staked a remote Chadron arch wildcat.

The 4-5 Brownlee, in 5-26n-39w, 20 miles north of Hyannis, is permitted to 4,080 ft or Lower Permian, PI/Dwights reported. It is 60-75 miles north of nearest production.

Pennsylvania

Lightning Oil Co. Ltd., Tidioute, Pa., staked a Precambrian wildcat in Warren County.

The 15,000 ft test is the 13 Diane, 4 miles west of Tidioute and 42 miles southeast of the Lake Erie shore. PI noted the area produces from the Lower Silurian Medina Group at 5,800 ft.

"Production from clastic and carbonate reservoirs below the Cambro-Ordovician Knox Group in the greater Appalachian basin currently is confined to the western part of the basin in Ontario, Canada, and to several single-well pools in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia," PI noted.

South Dakota

Blue Million Exploration, Tuscaloosa, Ala., staked a remote wildcat in east-central South Dakota.

The well would be drilled in 11-107n-63w, in Jerauld County 5 miles northwest of Woonsocket, to 4,000 ft.

PI spots this site on the Sioux uplift 160 miles southeast of Lantry oil field in Dewey County in the Williston basin.

Texas

East

DGS Oil LLC, Madison, Wis., staked a remote wildcat in nonproducing Fannin County.

The 1 Exel Royal LLC, 5 miles north-northwest of Honey Grove, is projected to 12,000 ft.

Nearest production is 35 miles south, and only one well in the county has exceeded 10,000 ft, PI noted.

North

St. Mary Operating Co., Denver, staked an exploratory test in Cooke County to Cambro-Ordovician and Ordovician zones.

The 2 Winger-Odom, in the Marietta-Sherman basin 13 miles northeast of Gainesville, is projected to 15,000 ft, PI reported. It is near the 1996 discovery well for Collums Oil Creek oil and gas field. Cooke County's deepest hole went to 14,582 ft.

Nevada

MKJ Exploration, Metairie, La., staked a wildcat in the White River Valley.

Projected depth is not disclosed at the 25-7 Trough Spring Canyon, in 25-6n-61e, Nye County, 30 miles east-southeast of Grant Canyon oil field, PI noted.