Nigel Somerville (*************)18 Oct 2018 12:48
AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) has announced a drilling update from Etinde this morning and oh dear, the second drill, IE-4, of the two-well programme seems not to have had a nice tasty big strike. But there is some good news in there and although one could have a slightly cynical read of the text (ala UK Oil & Gas, UKOG) I don’t perceive any need for Bowleven to ramp its shares: it has piles of cash, don’t forget.
The bad news is that both wells offered no big strike and so the shares are off a tad, but we are also told that:
an unprognosed sequence of thinly bedded high porosity sand horizons of about 30 metres gross (20 metres net) thickness was drilled some 50 metres above the drillbit 410 sand package. Fluid sampling has shown the sands to be light oil saturated.
So not a complete duster, then. Further:
The IE-3 well showed a similar looking oil bearing sequence, which has been tentatively correlated with the IE-4 sequence, although these thin sandstone layers are not well imaged in the seismic data. Tentatively, based on the IE-4 location and the potential IE-3 correlation alongside the seismic data analysis, this structure trap is around 2 km squared in volume, with an additional untested structural high to the North West.
And….
The lower 12 metres of this sequence was tested at a flow rate of 17.1 mmscftg/d and 8780 bopd on a 56/64'' inch choke.
Additional evaluation is being undertaken on the IE field ahead of a broader interpretation being detailed. This discovery bodes well for the potential of the Etinde field and further test data and volumetric evaluation will be ongoing. The test results have increased the overall likelihood of a commercial development of the IE field area.
So there is some good news after all. The important thing to remember is that these are apparaisal drills and although a nice tasty big strike is what investors want to read of, there isn't much point in drilling the sweet spot all the time. What the partners want to know is how big the field is, and that means gong to the edges. The Nomad will have signed off on that last sentence, so it really is good news. As for the IM-6 drill, we are told that:
An assessment of the reservoir pressure data collected at the IM-6 location with that at IM-5 has allowed a determination of the expected wet gas/water contact within the Intra-Isongo aged 410 sand packages with the "Awl" structure first drilled at the IM-5 location. The contact is calculated to be at 3,050 metre depth (tvdss) on the basis that the reservoir fluids between the IM-5 and IM-6 locations are connected. Based on this data, the volume of the Awl reservoir increases from c5.8 km to c8.9 km. The IM-6 well, which successfully appraised the Intra Isongo section of the field, established a lower gas water contact and adding an additional 150-250 bcf of wet gas resources on a P50 confidence basis. Further analysis will need to be completed before any resource increment can be booked in
Sign In
Follow the stocks
