The South Belridge-6-7 well – the third well of six in the current drilling and development program – spudded on September 19, reached a total depth of 4925ft, and has now been logged and completed.
“The Diatomite section in the 6–7 well appears the best of any wells we have drilled and fracced to date,” said executive chairman Steve Graves.
The current program at the southern San Joaquin Basin project was running on schedule and within budget, according to Orchard.
“The planned hydraulic fracturing of the completed wells in quick succession is also running according to plan,” Graves said.
“We expect new production for these completed and stimulated wells to start within a month and to make a significant contribution to increasing production levels. The drilling program at South Belridge will continue with the current program and be followed by a 10-well program to start early in the new calendar year.”
A multi-stage hydraulic fracturing program provided by contractor Halliburton had been successfully completed on the 4-7 and 5-7 wells over intervals covering more than 2500ft of hydrocarbon-bearing Diatomite formation, Graves said.
A similar fracture stimulation program is now beginning on the 6-7 and 16-7 wells.
Meanwhile, drilling started on the fourth well 7-7 in the current six-well program last Friday, September 30. This will be the tenth well to be drilled at South Belridge.
Two additional wells are scheduled for drilling at the completion of 7-7 to complete Orchard’s current project. The fifth well will target the oil-rich Diatomite formation and the sixth well will have its primary target at the shallower Etchegoin formation, to determine if there is potential in this shallow gas formation seen across the acreage.
The 10-well drilling program expected to begin early next year will focus on the continued development of the Diatomite and Olig Potter discoveries to date.
P Inc has a 25% interest in the South Belridge project and is the operator. Maxim TEP holds a 75% interest and funds 100% of the first US$28 million of development capital for the multi-well drilling program.
