By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jul 23 -- Apache Corp. made three more Egyptian discoveries in June and July, two of them on its 2.3 million acre Khalda concession in Egypt's Western Desert. Apache operates Khalda with a 100% contractor interest.
In addition to the previously announced Selkit-1X oil discovery on the Khalda concession (OGJ Online, June 4, 2002), Apache said both its Tut 51 and Tut 52 wells were completed successfully, along with its Al Bahig-1X deepwater well on the West Mediterranean concession.
Tut 51 flowed on test at a rate of 3,200 b/d of oil and 7.7 MMcfd of gas from 54 of 162 total ft of Khatatba pay. The Khatatba interval also includes 102 ft in the 2B sands, the thickest interval in that section yet encountered on the concession. The well was tested through a 5/8-in. choke with 1,870 psi flowing wellhead pressure. It is producing from three intervals at 11,480-11,993 ft. About 108 ft of Khatatba pay remain behind pipe, as well as 36 ft of Bahariya pay at 6,100 ft.
Tut 52 flowed on test at a rate of 29.2 MMcfd of gas and 781 b/d of condensate. It was drilled to extend the limits of the Khatatba reservoir on the southern flank of Tut Field. The well was tested through a 1-in. choke with 1,475 psi flowing wellhead pressure. It was perforated in 140 net ft of pay in four Khatatba zones located at 11,774-12,216 ft.
The well also logged 35 ft of potential pay in the Upper and Lower Bahariya at 5,900-6,040 ft. Apache expects to bring the well on production in August upon completion of a 4.2-mile pipeline connecting it to the Salam gas plant. The initial completion will be in the deepest and thickest of the four Khatatba zones.
In addition to the Khatatba pay, Tut 52 logged 89 ft of new pay in the Alam El Bueib (AEB) 5A and 5B sands of 8,940-10,550 ft —the first time those sands have been identified as pay zones in Tut field. Apache said it will drill another well nearby to test the AEB sands.
Deepwater gas discovery
The Al Bahig-1X well, located 37 miles off Egypt in 3,510 ft. of water, is 10 miles southwest of Apache's recent Abu Sir Pliocene discovery (OGJ Online, May 22, 2002). The well was drilled to 8,050 ft TD in the Kafr El sheik (Pliocene) formation.
Wireline logs and pressure data indicate reservoir quality as good as or better than that encountered in the Abu Sir well, the company said, so Apache will not test the discovery at this time.
Apache, as operator, has a 55% contractor interest in the field; RWE-DEA AG has 28.33%; and BP PLC holds 16.67%. Apache said it has seven more prospects and leads in the deepwater West Mediterranean concession and plans to drill three more wells there by yearend.
