Melbana Energy Ltd. will spud Alameda-2 to test the Amistad interval in its Block 9 contract area, onshore Cuba.
Alameda-2, the first of two appraisal wells planned for this year, will be drilled off the same drill pad used for Alameda-1. The design of Alameda-2 has been modified to incorporate the lessons learned from drilling Alameda-1.
The appraisal will include flow tests to better understand properties of the reservoir as well as sampling to ascertain the quality of encountered oil. Three fully cored sections are planned within thicker net pay zones identified in Alameda-1 to aid in calibrating petrophysical properties and reservoir description.
Mobilization notices will be given to contractors in early March and Alameda-2 drilling operations will commence following the removal of the Alameda-1 wellhead and plugging and abandonment of that well.
If successful, Alameda-2 can be kept as a future oil producer and the additional potential oil pay may allow for an increase of the previous estimates for oil in place and prospective resource contained in this interval.
The second appraisal well, Alameda-3, will be drilled later in the year and will test the deeper Alameda and Marti intervals.
Block 9 production sharing contract covers 2,344 sq km onshore on the north coast of Cuba, 140 km east of Havana in a proven hydrocarbon system and along trend with Varadero oil field.
Melbana Energy is operator at Block 9 with 30% interest with Sonangol holding the remaining 70%.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).