Algeria
A group led by Repsol YPF SA has found gas in an Ordovician formation in the Reggane-6 (RG-6) appraisal well on block 351c and 352c in Algeria’s Sahara Desert.
The well was drilled to a TD of 5,116 m and the “discovery in this geological formation adds to the Reggane North region’s gas reserves,” said RWE Dea, a partner in the group.
Feasibility studies are under way, and it is not yet known when development drilling will start, RWE told OGJ.
This is the fourth well to encounter gas on the Reggane North concession (OGJ Online, May 18, 2006).
Other participants in the blocks that span 8,566 sq km are Edison International and Sonatrach.
Ghana
A group led by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. as technical operator plans to drill the Hyedua exploration well on the Tano Deep Block off Ghana, spudding in mid-2007.
The well follows the Mahogany-1 discovery in 4,330 ft of water on the adjacent West Cape Three Points Block. Mahogany cut 885 ft of gross hydrocarbon column with 312 ft of net stacked pay in a Cretaceous sandstone reservoir (OGJ Online, June 19, 2007).
Meanwhile, Anadarko 40%, Kosmos Energy LLC 40%, and Petronas 20% plugged the Sota prospect in Block 4 off Benin after drilling to TD 12,500 ft in 6,700 ft of water.
India
India’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons let a contract to GGS-Spectrum, Oslo, to reprocess as much as 12,000 line-km of 2D seismic surveys off India’s west coast and to license the results to third parties in connection with a licensing round.
The survey area covers blocks that are to be included in the NELP VII licensing round expected to open in the third or fourth quarter of 2007 and close in the first quarter of 2008.
GGS-Spectrum will apply state of the art processing including multiple attenuation techniques, prestack time migration, and prestack depth migration.
Netherlands
Cirrus Energy Corp., Calgary, plans to develop M1-A field in the Netherlands North Sea.
Most likely reserves from the single well are 35 bcf from 93 bcf of proved and probable gas in place in overpressured, low-permeability Triassic-aged sandstones at 3,900 m.
Cirrus is operator with 47.5% working interest. Its partner is the state owned company EBN. The development budget is $53.3 million.
The development plan involves reentry and hydraulic fracture stimulation of the suspended M1-3 well with subsea completion and tie-back to existing gas processing and export infrastructure. First gas is expected in the fourth quarter of 2008 at 10-14 MMcfd for the first year.
The license covers 212 sq km in 40 m of water. The field was discovered in 1992, and an appraisal well was drilled in 1998. Further development drilling may occur later to accelerate recovery of what may be 230 bcf of gas in place or more.
Russia
Siberian Energy Group Inc., New York, is investing $16 million in Western Siberia, where it holds seven licenses that total more than 1 million acres in Russia’s Kurgan area bordering central Kazakhstan and Russia’s Tyumen Region.
The first well on the Privolny license, designed to correlate with seismic and geochemical data, reached 7,892 ft and was cored in the Middle Carboniferous-Moscovian and Upper and Middle Devonian sections. After analyzing the core, the company will decide whether to deepen the well.
The well provided sufficient data to spud the next exploration well on the adjoining Mokrousovsky license in September.
Four wells are planned overall, including Privolny-2 in the fourth quarter, all to 6,100-6,500 ft. The licenses, to be exploited consecutively, are near oil pipeline and rail infrastructure.
Alaska
The Colville River Unit containing Alpine field on Alaska’s North Slope achieved a record oil production rate of 142,500 b/d on May 10, 2007, said 22% interest owner Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
ConocoPhillips has 78% interest and operates the field, which went on production in November 2000. The westernmost producing field on the slope, the unit was originally expected to recover 429 million bbl of oil.
Indiana
Western Pipeline Corp., Irving, Tex., said its Catt-1 oil discovery in Gibson County went on production Mar. 16, 2007, at 35 b/d of oil with small amounts of casinghead gas from 14 ft of pay.
The company said the project area produces oil and gas from channel and offshore bar sands, biocalcarenites, oolite shoals, and possibly from reef and dolomitic vugular porosity.
The Catt-1 completion will lead to several additional Mississippian Hardinsburg completions in the field, the company said.
New Mexico
Sun River Energy Inc., Wheat Ridge, Colo., plans a 20-well exploration program in 2007-08 for coalbed methane in the Raton basin in Colfax County.
That program is based on the results of three wells the company has drilled and cased to about 1,300 ft, all of which encountered multiple coals in the Raton and Vermejo formations. The company plans to frac the three wells in late July or August.
The 20-well program will fully explore the company’s 12,000-acre position on 640-acre spacing.
Sun River noted that historical recovery averages for Raton basin CBM wells are 1 bcf for Raton coals and 1.6 bcf for Vermejo coals.
Texas - West-Central
Giant Petroleum Inc., Irving, Tex., and Hilltex Operating Co. have completed three of 20 wells they plan in Shackelford and Throckmorton counties, Tex.
Well 136-1, drilled into a Mississippian reef, tested more than 600 Mcfd of gas from a gas cap.
Well 137-1, also drilled into the reef, flowed on test at a rate of 125 b/d of sweet crude oil and 300 Mcfd of gas and has been placed on production.
The Miller-1 well targeted the Mississippian reef and Caddo limestone formations. The well had multiple shows and log indications in several pay zones in the wellbore. Giant Petroleum said the partners plan to recomplete the well uphole from a failed completion attempt in the Mississippian reef.