Cairn Energy’s latest SNE well offshore Senegal, SNE-6, has proved to be successful, with the confirmation of good connectivity with the SNE-5 well.
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Map of Senegal, from Cairn. |
Cairn says that rig performance continues to be excellent and operations have been safely and successfully completed ahead of schedule and under budget following drilling, logging and drill stem testing (DST).
The objective of the SNE-6 appraisal well, together with the previous successful SNE-5 well, was to flow oil from one of the principal units in the upper (400 series) reservoirs and demonstrate connectivity between the two wells, says Cairn. Pressure data from SNE-6 immediately confirmed good connectivity with SNE-5 and accordingly a short DST was performed.
“A good connectivity between both wells will drive the effectiveness of water flooding in the SNE upper reservoir which could boost recovery factors in the upper sands from the 5-10% currently assumed (2P case) to some 20%,” says investment analysts GMP Research. “We estimate that this could add over 50 MMbbl 2P reserves net to Cairn (+30%), that we value at £0.37 (US$0.48) per share unrisked. Under the most pessimistic scenario, we estimate that the 1P reserves at SNE are going up, making the base case for the field development more solid.”
Cairn’s analysis found that the main reservoir units, pressure data and fluid contacts are in line with previous SNE appraisal wells. During the DST, multiple samples of oil were recovered that indicated oil of similar quality to previous wells.
Two DSTs were conducted within the Upper Reservoir units, in which DST#1A flowed from an 11m interval at a maximum rate of about 4600 b/d on a 60/64in choke. In addition, a 48-hour main flow period was performed at some 3700 b/d on a 52/64in choke.
For DST#1B an additional 12m zone was added and the well flowed at a maximum rate of about 5400 b/d on a 76/64in choke, followed by a 24-hour flow at an average rate of some 4700 b/d on a 64/64in choke.
Cairn says that pressure data from SNE-6 confirmed that the upper reservoir is connected with SNE-5, about 1.6km away.
“This is our ninth successful well in Senegal in three years. The results from this latest well together with SNE-5 and VR-1 provide essential data as we move towards submitting a development plan for the SNE field to the government of Senegal in 2018,” says Simon Thomson, Cairn chief Executive. “Operations now move to FAN SOUTH as we continue to test significant further prospectivity in the extensive acreage position.”
The SNE-6 well is being plugged and abandoned and the Stena DrillMAX drillship is mobilizing to start operations at the FAN South exploration well, approximately 20km southwest of the SNE-3 well in some 2175m water depth.
FAN South is targeting a mean prospective resource of more than 110 MMbbl with dual prospects; an Upper Cretaceous stacked multi-layer channelized turbidite fan prospect and a Lower Cretaceous base of slope turbidite fan prospect, which is equivalent to the FAN-1 2014 oil discovery.
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