Pacific Rubiales makes oil discovery in Peru

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., Toronto, has made an oil discovery in the Los Angeles-1X exploration well on Block 131 of Peru’s onshore Ucayali basin.

The Los Angeles-1X well was spud in September and reached a total depth of 12,409 ft in November. Petrophysical evaluation indicated the presence of 62 ft of net pay in the Cretaceous-aged Cushabatay formation.

Pacific Rubiales conducted three separate tests across different net pay intervals in the Cushabatay formation under swabbing and natural flow conditions and through variable choke sizes over 22-60-hr test periods. Final flow rates from the three test intervals were 135 b/d, 936 b/d, and 2,351 b/d, respectively, of 44-45° API gravity sweet oil, the company said. Water cuts ranged from 10% in the lowest interval to 0.3% to nil in upper intervals.

The produced oil was trucked and sold to the nearby 3,250-b/d Pulcallpa refinery. The operator has applied for a 30-day initial production test to further understand the reservoir drive mechanism to be followed by an extended production test, subject to government approvals, beginning in the middle of this year. Both companies are currently evaluating development and oil marketing strategies for the block.

Pacific Rubiales’s wholly owned subsidiary Pan Andean Resources PLC (Peru), Sucursal del Peru, holds 30% working interest in Block 131. The operator carried 100% of the well costs and will retain the remaining 70% working interest.

“The company is very encouraged by the test results in the Los Angeles-1X well in Block 131 and is looking forward to progressing this discovery and the earlier Sheshea-1X oil discovery in Block 126 through an evaluation phase and future development and production,” said Ronald Pantin, Pacific Rubiales chief executive officer. “These light-oil discoveries support our confidence in the potential of the underexplored onshore basins in Peru.”

The Sheshea-1X exploration well on Block 126 was drilled to a total depth of 8,925 ft in late 2012 and tested 1,430 b/d of 53° API gravity sweet oil with no water from a 10-ft perforated zone in the cretaceous aged Chonta formation. The Cretaceous aged Agua Caliente formation tested 80 b/d of 42° API gravity with a 97% water cut suggesting a potential accumulation updip from the well, Pacific Rubiales said.

The company, which holds 100% operated working interest in Block 126, has recently applied for environmental impact assessments for early production facilities along with 23 drilling pads comprised of 8 wells each plus a 2D and 3D seismic program. Pacific Rubiales expects to receive approval by yearend.

Pacific Rubiales in late 2013 gained interest in both blocks, as well as light and heavy oil assets in Colombia, through the Petrominerales Ltd. acquisition.

Pacific Rubiales owns 100% of Meta Petroleum Corp., which operates the Rubiales, Piriri, and Quifa heavy oil fields in the Llanos basin, and 100% of Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia Corp., which operates the La Creciente natural gas field in the northwestern area of Colombia.

Pacific Rubiales has also acquired 100% of PetroMagdalena Energy Corp., which owns light oil assets in Colombia, and 100% of C&C Energia Ltd., which owns light oil assets in the Llanos basin. The company has a portfolio that includes producing and exploration assets in Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, Guyana, and Papua New Guinea.