Area Drilling

Jan. 3, 2000
An ARCO group is drilling Semhari East-1 on the 788,000 acre Hassi Bir Rekaiz block in the northern Ghadames basin 60 miles northeast of giant Rhourde el Baguel oil field.

Algeria

An ARCO group is drilling Semhari East-1 on the 788,000 acre Hassi Bir Rekaiz block in the northern Ghadames basin 60 miles northeast of giant Rhourde el Baguel oil field. Projected TD is 3,800 m.

The drillsite is 20 km east of the group's Semhari-1 discovery, which flowed more than 1,800 b/d of oil from Triassic and Ordovician zones in 1997. Seismic has indicated the two wells might be on the same structure.

Azerbaijan

Puma Energy Inc., Dallas, signed a memorandum of understanding to rehabilitate, explore, develop, and produce a block that contains Siazan oil field. The company on Nov. 19 signed another agreement to develop Balakhani, Sabunchi, and Ramani oil fields. The four fields are mainly onshore on the coast north of Baku.

Nicaragua

Fugro-Geoteam AS and Fugro-LCT acquired 3,097 line km of spec 2D reconnaissance seismic data plus gravity and magnetic data on the Caribbean shelf between shore and 82° W. Long.

The data, first acquired in the area for 20 years, extend from the Miskito Bank to the Clark basin. The Tertiary and Mesozoic sedimentary section on the shelf is estimated at more than 7,000 m thick.

The country hopes to launch a licensing round early in 2000.

Portugal

Mohave Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, planned to have spud the Aljubarrota-3 appraisal well in the Lusitanian basin by yearend 1999.

Projected to 3,000 m, the well was to be drilled underbalanced with a compressed air system to alleviate formation damage as experienced in the Aljubarrota-2 discovery well 3 km south. The discovery well encountered a thick gas column in the Jurassic Brenha formation.

Gulf of Mexico

A group led by PetroQuest Energy Inc., Lafayette, La., was considering development options for an oil and gas discovery on its Falcon prospect in Vermilion Block 376.

Logs showed 285 ft of gross hydrocarbon column (136 ft net) in six objective sands. TD is 5,900 ft. Interests are PetroQuest, operator, 43% and private companies the rest.

A Kerr-McGee Corp. group was reviewing development options for the Boomvang and Nansen areas in the southeast East Breaks area, where production should start in early 2002 (see map, OGJ, Nov. 8, 1999, p. 80).

It spudded a second appraisal well and plans to drill a third at the Nansen prospect on Block 602. The first appraisal well, in 3,679 ft of water, cut 100 ft of net oil and gas pay in an updip fault block 3,500 ft west of the discovery well. TD is 12,399 ft. Nansen area reserves are estimated at 350-450 bcfe.

Mississippi

Fina Oil & Chemical Co., Houston, tested another well in Maben field in northeastern Mississippi (see map, OGJ, Dec. 21, 1998, p. 108).

Fina's 2 Richardson, in 34-19n-12e, Oktibbeha County, flowed 3.3 MMcfd of gas on a 12/64 in. choke with more than 4,600 psi FTP while still recovering acidizing fluid. Producing zone is Ordovician Knox at about 14,500 ft, which Fina is understood to have extensively cored.

Fina has several other permits to drill in the area. One permit would involve re-entry and horizontal drilling in Knox at the former Exxon 1 Fulgham, in 33-19n-12e, less than 1 mile west of the 2 Richardson.

Working interests are Fina 50% and Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, 50%.

New Mexico

Queen Sand Resources Inc., Dallas, launched redevelopment of a 640-acre tract in giant Caprock field, Lea and Chaves counties, where it controls 14,000 contiguous acres in the 26,000-acre field and has performed extensive remedial work.

The firm will drill four horizontal water injection wells and one dual lateral producing well. Aim is to establish 600 b/d of gross production at a cost of $2.8 million.

Texican Oil plc is participating in the first phase.

Depending on results, it would develop a further 2,240 acres with 10 more horizontal injection wells and three dual lateral and one single lateral producers.

Tennessee

Tengasco Inc., Knoxville, sped up its drilling program in Swan Creek field, Hancock County, with a planned four development wells to have spudded during December 1999.

The program also included an exploratory test, 1 Springdale Land Co., in 22-1s-72e, 10 miles southwest of the field.

Seismic data indicate more than 6,000 linear ft of closure at this site, compared with about 3,000 ft in wells in the field, where Tengasco holds more than 50,000 acres.

The company also planned to begin construction in January 2000 of 25 miles of pipeline to ship Swan Creek gas to Eastman Chemical Corp.

Texas

North
Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. was adding a fifth rig in December 1999 to its program to produce gas from Mississippian Barnett shale in the Fort Worth basin.

Net gas production there rose during summer to more than 90 MMcfd in November (OGJ, Sept. 27, 1999, p. 89).

Gulf Coast

Comstock Resources, Inc., Frisco, Tex., is drilling the fourth and fifth wells of a planned seven wells in Double A Wells field, Polk County.

Its 11 Carter Brothers in the field flowed 6.5 MMcfd of gas and 510 b/d of condensate on a 22/64 in. choke with 3,120 psi FTP from Cretaceous Upper Woodbine perforations at 13,966-14,046 ft.

Esenjay Exploration Inc., Corpus Christi, tested the 4-1 Yturria well in Raymondville field, Willacy County, flowing 1.7 MMcfd of gas with 1,860 psi FTP from an undisclosed zone.

The company was testing 3-3 and 3-4 Yturria, said interest owner Harken Energy Corp., Dallas.