(Alliance News) - Pantheon Resources PLC on Monday said it continues to focus on Kuparuk formation as it is an important target on the Alaska North Slope.
The oil and gas exploration company previously reported that the formation within the Kuparuk started to become damaged in its current location because of equipment failures and technical issues. Accordingly, the company decided to drill a new modestly angled sidetrack into the Kuparuk, however, it has not been possible to undertake this operation because of the poor condition of that section of the hole.
On Monday, Pantheon said it decided to retrace some 500 feet above the original casing shoe where the wellbore integrity is good, and to kick off a completely new sidetrack hole. This new shallower section of hole will be drilled from the existing casing string avoiding the open hole section of the well where all the problems have occurred.
The new sidetracked well should penetrate the Kuparuk formation some 100 feet from the original problem section of hole in a virgin reservoir section which will allow a better testing operation.
The company said it estimates that drilling and testing operations through this initiative will take 15 to 18 days and involve redrilling some 1,200 feet of new hole.
"We have decided to focus on the Kuparuk Formation because of the reservoir quality encountered and potential size of the resource, which is massive by any standards," said Chief Executive Jay Cheatham.
"As we stated in our last release, the time delays don't impact the potential of the well, rather, our ability to test all zones as effectively as we would like before the end of the drilling season. Having any untested zones behind pipe knowing we can return at a later date without damage to the oil bearing formations is comforting," added Cheatham.
Pantheon Resources shares were trading 8.2% lower in London on Monday at 34.17 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Pantheon Res (PANR)