Testing to take a 'few weeks'31 Aug 2023 17:25
Meaning the fun here may not be over so soon...
Rhein Petroleum is now jubilant: The new well "Schwarzbach 2" will probably be even more productive than the deep well "Schwarzbach 1", which has been continuously producing oil in the immediate vicinity on the site on Starkenburger Straße for five and a half years.
“We believe that the new well will allow more oil production than Schwarzbach 1,” says Peter Appel, managing director of Rhein Petroleum GmbH, when asked by FR. After the four-week exploratory drilling, the most recent tests and the borehole geophysical measurement, the mood is “positive,” said a company spokesman. Everything indicates that 600 barrels of oil per day can be extracted from the depths here – that's a good 95,000 liters.
For comparison: The production rate at "Schwarzbach 1" was originally 300 to 400 barrels of crude oil per day; only 15 barrels are currently being pumped there every day. This is nothing unusual, says Appel. The production rate decreases as liquid is extracted from the depths and the reservoir pressure from the surrounding rock decreases over time.
An independent report determined that “Schwarzbach 2” had an oil reserve of 3.8 million barrels. But that is only an arithmetic value. “Under optimal conditions, this reservoir can be exploited by 40 to 50 percent,” says Appel. In previous years only 20 percent was possible.
In any case, it is clear that the “Schwarzbach 2” well actually exceeds the Heidelberg company’s expectations. The oil-bearing layers, the so-called Meletta and Pechelbronn layers, are thicker than previously assumed - and also thicker than in the current drilling. In addition, the oil-containing reservoirs are higher up than forecast.
The porosity, i.e. the permeability of the rock, is also “promising” and the flow rate of the oil from the small pores is good. According to initial laboratory tests, the quality of the raw material is also above expectations: “Light, low in sulfur, rich in valuable ingredients,” says Appel. The crude oil is of very high quality and is particularly suitable for industrial processing and the production of medicines or high-quality plastics.
Test funding will begin in the coming days and will last a few weeks. “You can then see how much oil flows into the drill string,” informs the spokesman for Rhein Petroleum. The borehole is cleaned, a thin production line and a pump are installed in the borehole. At the same time, the 35 meter high winding tower, which had been announcing the exploratory drilling from afar in recent weeks, will disappear. According to the company, the existing infrastructure on the site can be used for extraction and processing.
From Riedstadt the crude oil is transported by truck to the refinery in Karlsruhe. Oil produced locally has a much better CO2 balance than imported oil, says Appel. That may be the reason why environmentalists have not yet protested against oil drilling in the Hessian Rie
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