Algeria's Ghadames basin gets significant Triassic discovery

Louisiana Land & Exploration Co., New Orleans, reported a significant discovery in the Ghadames basin 150 miles southeast of Hassi Messaoud, Algeria. The MLN-1 well on Block 405 flowed a combined 15,850 b/d of oil and 61 MMcfd of natural gas from three perforated intervals in a Triassic sandstone sequence. The 31/2 in. tubing restricted the flow rates from all three intervals. The intervals probably would be commingled for production purposes. The well, drilled to 12,411 ft, encountered 85 ft

July 22, 1996

2 min read

Louisiana Land & Exploration Co., New Orleans, reported a significant discovery in the Ghadames basin 150 miles southeast of Hassi Messaoud, Algeria.

The MLN-1 well on Block 405 flowed a combined 15,850 b/d of oil and 61 MMcfd of natural gas from three perforated intervals in a Triassic sandstone sequence. The 31/2 in. tubing restricted the flow rates from all three intervals. The intervals probably would be commingled for production purposes. The well, drilled to 12,411 ft, encountered 85 ft of net oil pay.

No water, hydrogen sulfide, or carbon dioxide were encountered.

Working interests in the 713,000 acre block are LL&E Algeria Ltd. 65% and Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, 35%. The block is held under a 1993 production sharing contract with Algeria's state company Sonatrach.

LL&E was preparing a drillsite last week for the MLN-2 delineation well 1.2 miles north-northwest of the discovery.

MLN-1 is 12.4 miles northeast of the partnership's first exploratory well on the block, MLE-1. It flowed a combined 43 MMcfd of gas and 1,724 b/d of condensate and is suspended pending commercial assessment (OGJ, June 5, 1995, p. 29).

The companies are drilling the MLNE-1 exploratory well 16.1 miles northeast of MLN-1. It is programmed to confirm the extension of recent major industry discoveries in blocks adjacent to Block 405.

The partnership is processing and evaluating seismic data recently acquired on 840,000 acre Block 215 about 65 miles west of Block 405 and 71 miles south of Hassi Messaoud. It plans to drill its first wildcat there next year.