Strike extends Sea Lion play off Falklands
Premier Oil PLC will plug a discovery well on the Zebedee prospect after successfully testing a southward extension of its Sea Lion oil field under development north of the Falkland Islands (OGJ Online, Oct. 3, 2013).
Well 14/15b-5 on PL004b cut 81 ft of net oil pay and 55 ft of net gas pay in the Cretaceous F2 and F3 formations. In F2, the well encountered 55 ft of net gas pay in the Hector sand and 79 ft of net oil pay in the Zebedee sand. No oil-water contact was observed in Zebedee.
Premier said reservoir quality in both sands is good. The results were in line with expectations. In deeper F3 targets, the well had oil shows, but the sands are not well developed.
The Ocean Rig Eirik Raude semisubmersible rig, which drilled the Zebedee well, next will drill a well designated Isobel Deep to test the Elain-Isobel fan complex in the southern part of the basin.
Premier is developing Sea Lion in phases, initially with 14 subsea development wells—8 producers, 5 water injectors, and 1 gas producer-injector—and a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. It expects to produce 160 million bbl of oil over 15 years.
Water depths in PL004b are 400-450 m. Interests are Premier, operator, 36%; Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd., 40%; and Rockhopper Exploration PLC, 24%.