Bulgaria
Direct Petroleum Exploration Inc., private Denver independent, said a subsidiary has drilled Deventci-R1, the deepest well in Bulgaria in the last 30 years, to TD 19,313 ft and set production casing at 19,280 ft.
The well, on the A-Lovech block in northwestern Bulgaria, bottomed in the Lower Triassic Alexandrovo formation and encountered gas-saturated reservoirs in the Dolni Dabnik member of the Middle Triassic Doirentsi formation. Other potential reservoirs are in the Upper Triassic Rusinovdel and the Lower Jurassic Ozirovo formations.
Egypt
Groundstar Resources Ltd., Calgary, will shortly invite bids for a planned 700 line-km 2D seismic program over five large Lower Cretaceous structures on the West Kom Ombo Block in southern Egypt.
The company identified the structures on previous seismic shot by Repsol-YPF SA. Groundstar’s shoot is to start around the end of the 2008 first quarter. Groundstar operates the block with 60% working interest.
A contractor will be mobilized to conduct the seismic program in a joint campaign with Centurion Energy and possibly Melrose Resources.
Ivory Coast
Exploration success off Ghana at the Jubilee discovery, formerly Mahogany and Hyedua, has opened a new play off Ivory Coast in Upper Cretaceous turbidite sands, said Tullow Oil PLC, London.
The new play and a previously discovered play in tilted Albian fault blocks such as Espoir field and the East Grand Lahou prospect in Block CI-105, both extend throughout the West Africa Transform Margin.
Tullow holds nine licenses in these fairways, three off Ghana and six off Ivory Coast, and expects to drill in both plays in 2008.
Western Sahara
The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic plans a second licensing round in early 2008 with the offer of six offshore and three land blocks in Western Sahara, West Africa.
SADR said, “The licensing initiative has been launched in preparation for the full recovery of all of our territory, as the [United Nations’] mediation process progresses towards a lasting solution to the conflict between the SADR and Morocco. The licensing initiative has been arranged in accordance with the UN legal opinion regarding commercial activities in Western Sahara.”
The blocks total 48 million acres in 0 to 3,600 m of water.
Most of the area is in the underexplored Mesozoic and Tertiary Aaiun basin, where the most recent exploration occurred in the 1950s-60s. That work proved the existence of a 6,000-m thick sedimentary section and the presence of all the ingredients of a working petroleum system.
SADR awarded nine licenses to eight companies in the first bid round in 2006.
Yemen
Dragon Oil PLC agreed to acquire 10% interests in three blocks in Yemen from Virgin Resources Ltd.
The interests are in Blocks 35, 49, and R2. A drilling program is under way on Blocks 49 and R2 with as many as six prospects being drilled as part of the first development phase.
Dragon’s main project is the redevelopment of Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) oil fields in the Cheleken contract area in the Caspian Sea off Turkmenistan.
Alberta
Great Plains Exploration Inc., Calgary, completed and tested its first exploration well in the Crossfire area of Pembina, Alta., as a Devonian Nisku zone discovery.
Logs indicate the 11-12-50-05w5 well encountered a 10.5-m hydrocarbon column, and the well flowed at rates as much as 1,390 b/d of oil. It stabilized for 4 hr at 730 b/d of 35° gravity clean oil and 470 Mcfd of gas at 3,253 kPa flowing pressure on a 9.53-mm choke.
The well, which suggests an important northeast extension of the Pembina Nisku trend, is the first of as many as six more wells that target similar Nisku light oil prospects that Great Plains and partners plan in 2008.
California
Foothills Resources Inc., Bakersfield, Calif., will shortly spud a projected 9,300-ft exploratory well in Grizzly Bluff gas field in northern California’s Eel River basin.
The Grizzly Bluff-4 well, in Humboldt County, is to test the deep Grizzly Bear prospect and is to be drilled using the oil-base mud system employed on the Christiansen 3-15 and Vicenus 1-3 wells in 2006.
The upper part of the hole will evaluate the Pliocene Lower Rio Dell formation that previously flowed 5 MMcfd of gas on a 4-day test. The well’s lower portion is to test good gas shows encountered in thick sandstones in deeper formations in the Vicenus-1 well in 1971.
Foothills is designing fracs for the Vicenus 1-3 reentry, TD 6,068 ft, and Grizzly Bluff-5, TD 4,325 ft. Vicenus had indicated gas zones in the primary objective Lower Rio Dell 15 sand and secondary objective Lower Rio Dell 16 sand. Grizzly Bluff-5 mud logs and electric logs had good gas indications in three Pliocene Anderson sands.
Neither well recovered gas on test, and the company suspects polymer drilling fluids damaged the formations.
The basin’s gas production comes from Tompkins Hill field, 6 miles north of Grizzly Bluff, and one Grizzly Bluff well making 290 Mcfd.
Colorado
Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, is shooting a 3D seismic survey on its Yellow Jacket shale gas prospect in the Paradox basin in southwestern Colorado.
The company said, “The third vertical test well continues to test gas after encouraging gas contents and shale composition were recorded from the [Pennsylvanian] Gothic geological cores (OGJ, Sept. 24, 2007, p. 48).”
Barrett will develop a plan for at least one horizontal test well to be drilled in 2008.
Kentucky
Platina Energy Group Inc., Cheyenne, Wyo., completed the acquisition of a gas field near Corbin in Laurel and Whitley counties, Ky., from an undisclosed seller.
It plans to rework existing wells and drill as many as 100 potential locations at the field, which has an existing pipeline connection.
Louisiana
Browning Oil Co. Inc., private Dallas operator with 83.2% working interest, will start commercial production from the Fisher Lindsey-1 well in Calcasieu Parish in February, said Ausam Energy Corp., Calgary.
The well on the Quatre prospect tested at 7.2 MMcfd of gas and 115 b/d of condensate on a 14⁄64-in. choke with 6,797 psi flowing tubing pressure from an undisclosed formation. Ausam’s working interest is 16.8%.
Oklahoma
Unit Corp., Tulsa, plans to drill 10 more wells in Panola field in Latimer County in 2008.
The Cox-7, in which Unit has 63.47% working interest, was testing gas after frac at the rate of 12.9 MMcfd with 5,500 psi flowing tubing pressure from a Pennsylvanian Lower Atoka sand.
The well’s production is limited to 2 MMcfd until pipeline capacity is added in early February 2008, Unit said.
Texas — Gulf Coast
Foothills Resources Inc., Bakersfield, Calif., will drill eight more wells in giant Goose Creek oil field in Harris County in 2008.
The last two 2007 wells, Gaillard-49 and Smith C-19, averaged 40 b/d and 100 b/d of oil from Miocene Frio with TDs of 3,388 ft and 3,992 ft, respectively. Electric logs indicated several shallower intervals with commercial potential in both wells.
Wyoming
Consulting engineers estimated that the 2,273-acre South Glenrock C Unit in Converse County, Wyo., could yield 4.9 million stb of oil in 25 years under continuous carbon dioxide injection from the 17.67 million stb estimated to remain in place in the Cretaceous Lower Muddy formation.
The unit, 15 miles east of Casper in the southern Powder River basin, has produced 5.3 million stb by primary recovery and 2.4 million stb under waterflood, said Ameriwest Energy Corp., Houston. It is one of three units in South Glenrock field.
Ameriwest has signed a letter of intent to secure a 99.5% working interest in the C Unit from an undisclosed seller.