June 1998 Vol. 219 No. 6  Exploration

J. John Grow,  Engineering Editor

Double discovery adjacent to Prudhoe Bay

ARCO Alaska, Inc., Exxon Co. USA and BP Exploration (Alaska) discovered two new oil accumulations during drilling of a Prudhoe Bay satellite prospect. These satellites are oil and gas accumulations in or around the Prudhoe Bay field, that are not part of the main reservoir.

The Sambuca well (Sam 1) encountered a 100-ft vertical section of hydrocarbon bearing rock in Kuparuk sands at 11,662-ft MD, along with a 160-ft vertical section of rock in the Sag / Ivishak formation at 12,965-ft MD.

The Kuparuk interval, which will become the Midnight Sun field, tested at about 4,000 bpd of 29°API gravity oil and 1.5 MMcfgd.

The Sag / Ivishak formation, which will become the Sambuca field, tested 1,400 bpd of 24°API gravity oil and 490 Mcfgd. The discovery is located on a lease in which ARCO and Exxon each own 50% interest.

BP, as Prudhoe Bay Western Area operator, served as drilling operator on this well on behalf of ARCO and Exxon. BP will pay part of the well cost in exchange for well data. All three companies also hold leases adjacent to the Sambuca and Midnight Sun discoveries.

Significant oil discovery in Algeria. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. along with partners LASMO and Maersk Oil, announced test results from the El Merk North 1 (EMN-1), a new field discovery well in Algeria. The EMN-1 tested over 21,000 bopd, the highest flow rate ever achieved by partners in Algeria. Anadarko's Algerian operations are conducted in partnership with SONATRACH, the country's national oil and gas enterprise.

Located on Block 208, the EMN-1 tested at stabilized rates of 21,395 bpd of 47°API gravity oil through three 1-1/2-in. chokes, plus 15.3 MMcfgd, from the Triassic TAGI formation. The well encountered 119 ft (36 m) of net hydrocarbon pay. A second zone in the well tested at 35.7 MMcfgd and 585 bopd through a 40/64-in. choke.

The EMN-1 is located between other previous discoveries on Block 208. One is a group called the El Merk / El Merk Central / El Merk East (EMK / EMC / EME) and is located about 6 mi (10 km) south; the other is El Kheit Et Tessekha (EKT) field located about 7-1/2 mi (12 km) north of EMN-1.

Two potential offshore discoveries at West Cameron Block 617 and Brazos Block A-19. McMoRan Oil & Gas Co. announced that its West Cameron Block 617-1 has encountered about 306 ft of net hydrocarbon pay in eight sands logged above 7,919-ft TVD. MOXY, the well operator, is currently setting casing to 8,678-ft MD, and will continue drilling to test additional objectives, proposed TD is 12,006-ft MD (10,090-ft TVD). West Cameron Block 617 is owned 24% by MOXY, 23.5% by Phosphate Resource Partners Limited Partnership, 50% by Forest Oil Corp. and 2.5% by an individual investor. West Cameron Block 617 is located in 300 ft of water in the GOM, about 130 mi offshore Louisiana and encompasses a total of 5,000 acres.

MOXY further announced that the Brazos Block A-19 2 has encountered hydrocarbons in a separate reservoir within the larger Picaroon field area. This field extension was defined by a recent 3-D seismic survey, and efforts are underway to assess future development plans. The well is currently at 17,900-ft MD and continues to drill towards a proposed 19,000-ft TD. The well is owned 50% by Shell Offshore Inc., 16.8% by MOXY, 16.5% by PLP, 15% by Spinnaker Exploration Co., L.L.C. and 1.7% by an individual investor.

Deepwater prospects acquired. Noble Affiliates, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Samedan Oil Corp., has acquired a 20% interest in two deepwater prospects, Green Canyon 326 (Cheddar) and Green Canyon 238 (Cleopatra) offshore Louisiana in about 2,400 ft of water.

Drilling has commenced on prospect Cheddar with a targeted 21,000-ft TD. Samedan will pay a disproportionate share of drilling costs in consideration for its acquired interest. Drilling is tentatively scheduled to begin next year on Prospect Cleopatra.

Noble Affiliates, Inc. is an independent energy company with E&P operations throughout major basins in the U.S., including the Gulf of Mexico. International operations are primarily in Argentina, China, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea and the UK sector of the North Sea.

UK oil discovered. AltaQuest Energy Corp. and Courage Energy have announced a new UK oil discovery, the Newton-on-Trent 1. The well was drilled to 4,606 ft (1,404 m). Oil was encountered in a 56-ft (17-m) interval of the Crawshaw sand and a 43-ft (13-m) interval of the Kinderscout sand. Drillstem tests conducted over these intervals indicated that initial production rates are expected to be more than 500 bopd. Production testing will commence as soon as regulatory approvals are received and completion and testing equipment is available.

This find was drilled on a structure that appears to be about 1-1/2 mi² (4 km²) in size on 2-D seismic. A 3-D seismic program will be undertaken to further define this new discovery.

Correction. In the column, April 1998, it was said: The Tortuga L2S, a mudslide / conventional platform drilling rig, was once a land rig and converted for platform drilling / workover. The statement should have read: The Sundowner II platform drilling rig, was once a land rig and converted for platform drilling / workover. And it was said: The Tortuga, being modular in design, has recently been stacked onto barges and moved back to dry land. The statement should have read: The Sundowner II, being modular in design, has recently been stacked onto barges and moved back to dry land...Apologies.

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