Esso Rep, exploration and production arm of Esso France, has drilled what may be the biggest oil strike in France in a decade.
Esso expects "substantial annual production" from an oil discovery in the Aquitaine basin of western France.
Its 1 Arbousier wildcat tested at a flow rate of 5,000 b/d last month after a new 85 ft horizon was tested.
The first test of the discovery well at the end of December 1991 yielded 1,200 b/d of low sulfur crude from a depth at 10,315-32 ft. Total depth is 11,480 ft. Further details aren't disclosed.
The find has caused considerable excitement in French exploration circles, and the field may be like the biggest discovery in France since Esso Rep discovered Chaunoy field in the Paris basin 10 years ago. Chaunoy currently produces 14,400 b/d, about 47% of total French oil production.
Last year Esso Rep spent 347 million francs ($62.5 million) for exploration and production, up from 301 million francs ($54.23 million) in 1990. This year the company has budgeted 350 million francs ($63.06 million) but said outlays could exceed this amount.
WELL DETAILS
Esso 1 Arbousier is on the Lege permit which is held 50-50 with Ste. Nationale Elf Aquitaine. The find is 3.7 miles north of Esso's Cazaux oil field (see map, OGJ, Dec. 9, 1991, p. 40).
Although there are still no official estimates of reserves, Esso Rep Chief Executive Officer Jean Barrier said the find is "largely commercial."
Esso is currently conducting additional seismic surveys over the permit and will spud a second well in early summer.
Commercial production is to start in 1993 after pipelines and other facilities have been installed. Meanwhile, crude oil is being trucked to neighboring facilities.
Esso sought the permit in the 1960s but was not granted the acreage until 1989. The permit, near Arcachon Bay, is in an environmentally sensitive area, and work is proceeding with great care.
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