VAALCO Energy Inc. said Oct. 17 that the first appraisal well in its 2019-2020 drilling campaign has confirmed oil in the Dentale reservoir beneath the Etame Field offshore Gabon.
Drilled to a total depth of 10,260 ft, the Etame 9P appraisal well encountered both Gamba and Dentale oil sands, the company said in a news release. About 35 ft of Dentale oil sands were encountered, verifying the presence of a Dentale oil column identified in the Etame 4V well drilled in 2001. The company estimates gross recoverable oil resources of 2.5 to 10.5 million barrels of oil in the subcropping Dentale reservoirs.
In addition, the company said an oil column encountered in the Gamba reservoir was thicker than expected, which could push up ultimate oil recovery from the planned Etame 9H and Etame 11H wells.
No H2S was encountered in either reservoir, VAALCO said.
“We continue to assess the viability of drilling future Dentale development wells as we aim to extend the overall life of the field by continuing to add reserves and production,” VAALCO CEO Cary Bounds said in the release. “We are now focused on drilling the Etame 9H development well which, if successful, could result in additional production volumes coming online in December.
Operations are underway to plug back to a shallower depth and drill the Etame 9H horizontal development well section in the Gamba reservoir, the company said.
Recommended Reading
Tech Trends: Safety, Speed, Savings: Automation is Transforming Drilling
2024-03-26 - Drilling is getting smarter through automation, delivering efficiency, consistency and reliability.
Axis Energy Deploys Fully Electric Well Service Rig
2024-03-13 - Axis Energy Services’ EPIC RIG has the ability to run on grid power for reduced emissions and increased fuel flexibility.
AI Advancing Underwater, Reducing Human Risk
2024-03-25 - Experts at CERAWeek by S&P Global detail the changes AI has made in the subsea robotics space while reducing the amount of human effort and safety hazards offshore.
Exclusive: Halliburton’s Frac Automation Roadmap
2024-03-06 - In this Hart Energy Exclusive, Halliburton’s William Ruhle describes the challenges and future of automating frac jobs.
Exclusive: Cost-effective Benefits of Extracting from Mature Assets
2024-05-13 - Baker Hughes' well abandonment leader Bart Joppe details the importance of extracting resources from mature assets and the company's approach to managing a well, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.