Russia’s Lukoil discovered natural gas pay at its deepwater Lira field in the Black Sea, offshore Romania.
The Transocean Development Driller II. Image from Lukoil. |
The Lira-1X exploration well is located about 170km from the coast at 700m water depth, and is also in the 1006sq km Trident block (EX-30), at 300-1200m water depth.
The well encountered a productive interval with an effective gas-saturated thickness of 46m after hitting a depth of 2700m (8858ft) using the Transocean Development Driller II semisubmersible. The well was temporarily abandoned for further evaluation of the Lira gas discovery, the company said.
Through seismic data, the field shows it can reach up to 39sq km, and reserves can exceed 30 Bcm of gas, which Lukoil expects to confirm during evaluation drilling.
“The success of the Lira-1X well will reduce the risk for further exploration on a series of prospective sites with significant potential reserves, located both close to the Lira structure and in other parts of the block. The program of future works planned for 2016 includes drilling an exploration well at the Lira and the reprocessing of seismic data to confirm the size of the discovery and precise assessment of its potential hydrocarbon reserves,” Lukoil said in a statement.
Lukoil operates the Trident block with 72% interest. Partners include PanAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. (18%) and Societatea Nationale de Gaze Naturale Romgaz SA (10%).