Perth-based 88 Energy Ltd. has spudded the Charlie-1 appraisal in Project Icewine acreage on the North Slope of Alaska.
The well is a step-out from a previous discovery, Malguk-1, drilled in 1991 by BP (OGJ Online, Nov. 25, 2019). Mulguk encountered oil shows with elevated resistivity and mud gas readings over multiple horizons during drilling. The well was not tested because of downhole drilling complications resulting in a lack of time before the close of the winter drilling season.
88 Energy moved into the area in 2016, first acquiring 2D seismic and then reprocessing legacy 2D seismic in 2017. A modern 3D seismic program was run in 2018 to determine the extent of BP’s discovery.
The company said that Charlie-1 will intersect seven stacked prospects, four of which are interpreted as oil-bearing in Mulguk-1. The seven stacked reservoirs have a potential to hold 1.6 billion bbl of oil on a gross mean prospective resource basis.
Charlie-1 will be funded up to $23 million by 60% farminee Premier Oil Plc and testing is anticipated to be concluded in April. 88 Energy retains 20% interest, while Burgundy Xploration Plc has the remaining 10%.