“The stage one redevelopment has highlighted a number of promising outcomes that will result in enhanced oil recoveries from the Grieve Oil Field,” said Elk managing director Robert Cook.

“Anomalous high pressures and oil content of swabbed fluid observed in a number of the structurally lower wells in the northern part of the field confirm the company’s view that the Muddy Formation reservoir is more faulted than historically interpreted.

“There is a strong possibility that a considerable amount of oil was not drained.”

Elk owns 100% of the field, which was first drilled in 1954, and was never worked with secondary recovery techniques, such as waterflood or natural gas re-injection. In August, Elk said an independent estimate showed a potential 12 million barrels of reserves still to be recovered from Grieve.

The field is currently producing 20 barrels of oil per day, but this is expected to increase as four additional wells are brought into production.

Elk said wells 16 and 17 are scheduled to start oil production by the end of this month, while wells 7 and 11 are expected to begin producing in early October.

Greater oil production from these wells is also expected after fluid streams showed higher oil content than first thought, said Cook. To date, swabbing of the wells has produced oil cuts varying from a few percent to as high as +25% oil.

The field’s existing production facilities have been deemed suitable for reactivation and will be supplemented with a hydraulic pumping system powered by solution gas from production.

“The installation of hydraulic powered down-hole pumps at the Grieve Oil Field is a first for the field and will reduce the cost and future dependence on workover rigs for pump change-outs and the associated production down time,” said Cook.

Stage one of redevelopment is expected to be completed by early next month. Following that, the workover rig will move immediately to Elk’s recently acquired Sand Draw South Oil Field, said the company.

The field’s stage one redevelopment involves the installation of high capacity pumping units in the two existing production wells. A currently suspended well will also be brought on line with a high capacity pumping unit.

Cook said the redevelopment of both Wyoming fields over the next 12 months would increase Elk’s daily production to more than 500 barrels of oil per day.