Upstream News

EnerJex Resources has drilling success in Mississippian project

San Antonio-based EnerJex Resources Inc. said March 14 that it has completed drilling five new oil wells targeting the Mississippian formation in Southeast Kansas with a 100% success rate. These wells were drilled on the company's recently acquired acreage in its Mississippian Project as part of a 10-well pilot program that is expected to be finished in about one month. At press time, completion work was under way.

The wells are being drilled to delineate and evaluate the Mississippian formation across a 720-acre portion of the project in which EnerJex intends to drill around 100 wells during the next 12 months. In addition, EnerJex plans to test the deeper Arbuckle formation in an upcoming well. This zone has high potential but a low probability of success, and by deepening a new well it can be evaluated at minimal cost.

EnerJex CEO, Robert Watson Jr., commented, "EnerJex has identified hundreds of low-risk drilling locations in its Mississippian Project, and the company plans to launch full-scale development in the coming months."

TransAtlantic Petroleum partners with Shell on Turkey exploration

TransAtlantic Petroleum, an international energy company engaged in the acquisition, development, exploration and production of oil and natural gas in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania, has finalized its partnership with Shell for a joint seismic program in the Sivas Basin of central Turkey.

N. Malone Mitchell, 3rd, TransAtlantic's chairman and CEO, stated, "This region is underexplored but has the potential to hold meaningful accumulations of hydrocarbons. We welcome the knowledge, technical capabilities and commitment that Shell brings to the project and look forward to working with Shell's team in reviewing the seismic and aeromag data, collection of which has already begun."

With modern 3D seismic, re-entry into shallow wells, fracture stimulation possibilities and the potential for horizontal drilling all provide upside potential to the company's assets in Turkey, Mitchell told OGFJ in an earlier interview (OGFJ, December 2010, p. 16).

Sivas deal

The Sivas Basin, noted Global Hunter Securities (GHS) analysts in a note to investors March 21, is a highly complex geologic setting with minimal exploration to date. For this reason, bringing in a partner with experience in a wide variety of settings like Shell is a definite plus.

Under terms of the agreement signed with Shell Upstream Turkey BV, Shell will co-fund a 2012 TransAtlantic program to collect 1,000 kilometers of 2D seismic data and approximately 8,000 kilometers of airborne gravity gradiometry and magnetic data in Turkey's Sivas Basin, where TransAtlantic holds exploration licenses covering approximately 1.6 million acres.

The agreement provides an option for Shell to farm in on the leases after it assesses the data collected. If Shell accepts the option, GHS analysts expect it would be for over 50% of the position that, following recent government approval of an extension on the licenses, calls for two wells by the end of 2013.

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, GHS analysts note that TransAtlantic is budgeting $15 million for seismic this year, or 12% of the full 2012 budget. Because the budget includes the Sivas shoot and reflects the Shell contribution, the partnership announcement has no effect on 2012 guidance, they concluded.
– Mikaila Adams

Tullow finds oil at Enyenra-4A well in Ghana

Tullow Oil announced March 16 that the Enyenra-4A appraisal well, in the Deepwater Tano license offshore Ghana, encountered oil in quality sandstone reservoirs.

The Africa-focused firm also reported that good evidence of communication with the Owo-1 discovery wells and the Enyenra appraisal wells confirms the significant extent of the Enyenra light oil field.

Located just under 4.5 miles southwest of Enyenra-2A and almost 13 miles south of the Enyenra-3A well, which defined the northern end of the Enyenra oil field, the Enyenra-4A well was drilled to define the southern extent of the field.

Results of drilling, wireline logs, samples of reservoir fluids and pressure data indicate that Enyenra-4A has intersected 105 feet of net oil pay. Pressure data from the oil leg has demonstrated that the oil is in static communication with the oil seen in the other wells in the field and indicates a continuous oil column of approximately 1,970 feet.

The Ocean Olympia drillship drilled Enyenra-4A to a total depth of 13,695 feet in water depths of 6,160 feet. Wireline logging has been completed and injectivity tests are under way to provide important data for the design of the water injection system.

On completion of operations, the well will be suspended for later use. The drillship will return at a later date to the Deepwater Tano block to perform a drill stem test on the oil zone in the Ntomme-2A well.

Tullow (49.95%) operates the Deepwater Tano license and is partnered by Kosmos Energy (18%), Anadarko Petroleum (18%), Sabre (4.05%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corp. (10% carried interest).

"Proving a 600-meter oil column over a distance of 21 kilometers with three appraisal wells is a significant achievement, which was only possible through the use of highly refined geophysical techniques. The appraisal of the Enyenra field will now continue with the monitoring of the pressure gauges deployed in several wells to determine the level of dynamic connectivity within the system and to further refine the estimates of oil in place," said Tullow exploration director Angus McCoss.

Statoil makes North Sea discovery

Statoil and its partners made a small oil discovery in the Oseberg Area Unit in the PL053 production license in the North Sea.

The Norwegian company and its partners are in the process of concluding drilling operations in the exploration well 30/6-28S located in the production license PL053 in the Oseberg Area Unit.

The well drilled by the rig COSL Pioneer proved an oil column of 12 meters in the Statfjord Formation. The estimated volume of the discovery is in the range of 12-18 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents.

The oil discovery lies in the Crimp prospect, which was the secondary target for the exploration well 30/6-28S. The primary target was the Crux prospect that Statoil earlier defined as a high impact gas opportunity.

With the Crux prospect, Statoil tested a hypothesis for the existence of a separate gas-filled structure underlying the Oseberg field. However, the Crux prospect did not contain hydrocarbons.

"The well 30/6-28S had two objectives. First, to test a new play in the area – the Crux prospect, which was a high risk / high reward opportunity. Second, to test an infrastructure-near prospect called Crimp, with relatively modest volumes but attractive economics. Unfortunately, we have not found gas in the Crux prospect, but we are pleased with the oil discovery in Crimp. Even though our high impact opportunity has not materialised, we have delivered some valuable additional resources to the Oseberg Unit," says Tore Løseth, vice president Exploration Licenses North Sea.

After completion of the exploration well 30/6-28S, the COSL Pioneer drilling rig will move to the Glitne field.

Exploration well 30/6-28S is situated in the production license PL053 in the Oseberg Area Unit in the North Sea. Statoil is the operator and has a 49.3% interest. Partners are Petoro (33.6%), Total E&P Norge (10%), ExxonMobil E&P Norway (4.7%) and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (2.4%).