At the Amber field, the Turner 4-14 gas well is producing some of the best results seen to date at the project, said Samson. The well is now flowing at 450 thousand cubic feet per day through a 3/8-inch choke at 2400 psi.
Managing director Terry Barr said without the choke, Turner 4-14 would flow at about 1.5 million cubic feet per day.
“The flow rate is being restricted such that the three previously existing wells, as well as others in the field in the gathering system can continue flow,” said Barr.
“The operator of the field is currently examining options that include the installation of compression on the older wells or the installation of a high pressure line for the Turner 4-14 well.”
Samson said the pressure response vindicated a geological and engineering study justifying the infill-drilling program and claiming the existing wells were not draining the gas resource.
“The well result has been in line with Samson’s strategy to move gas reserves from a non productive category into a proved developed category,” said Barr.
Meanwhile, the infill program’s second well, Hightower 1-23, has been cased for production after reaching a total depth of 3276 metres. Hydraulic stimulation started yesterday after the well encountered 26.5 metres of gross pay (18.2 metres of net) between 3202.5 and 3229 metres, said Samson.
In addition, the Bronco Rig 5 spudded the Reynolds 1-23 well on October 9 and was drilling ahead at 138 metres as of yesterday morning, reported the company.
Barr said that while the Turner 4-14 reserves were still to be determined following a lack of historical production data, the results so far were in line with the reserve report published in the company’s June 2005 Quarterly Report.
As part of a financial year-end report, Samson announced its share of the proved reserve held by subsidiary Kestrel Energy totalled a net present value of $A47.3 million. It said these results confirmed the reserve base associated with the Amber Field could be brought into production, said Samson.
It said the results to date confirmed that the in-fill development program was a relatively low-risk investment and would help Samson generate additional cash flow.
Samson affiliate, Kestrel Energy, has an interest in 1,280 acres with 8 wells producing 700 MCF daily (180 mcfd net to Kestrel). Kestrel has interests in Section 14 (37.5%) and Section 23 (32.5%).
Meanwhile, Samson has reported updates at its Green Canyon-1 and -2 gas wells in Wyoming.
Significant gas shows were returned from the recently completed GC-2 well, in which a sidetrack was drilled from the existing 5.5-inch casing to a depth of 4700 metres intersecting the Muddy Sandstone objective, said Samson.
The company reported that a tight spot was encountered in the shale beneath the Muddy Sandstone and the joint venture decided to set a bridge plug above this zone so that the Frontier Sandstone could be hydraulically stimulated. The stimulation operation has been scheduled for Tuesday October 18.
“Reservoir engineering data determined the Frontier Sandstone contained significant proven undeveloped reserves and therefore the stimulation of the Frontier Sandstone will form an important operation to bring these proven undeveloped reserves into the company’s cash flow,” said Barr.
With the work over now complete at GC-2, the rig has now been mobilised to GC-1, where it will set a whipstock at 3597m and mill a window in the 5.5-inch casing, said the company.
This will allow the well to be drilled with a coiled tubing unit in an under balanced condition for evaluation of the Baxter Shale. The contracted coiled tubing unit is due on location at the end of November.
“The application of coil tubing drilling in an under balanced condition is a technology that is considered to be mandatory such that the fracture intervals can remain undamaged from invading drilling fluids,” Barr said.
The 1067-metre thick Baxter Shale interval, with eight mapped fracture zones, has previously flowed a light volatile oil in the adjacent Poitevent well, said the company.
This latest operation will target an estimated at 10 million barrels of recoverable oil with associated sales gas of 49 billion cubic feet if the resource can be successfully produced.
Kestrel Energy Inc has successfully attracted joint venture partners in the project and subject to final documentation will retain a 55% interest.
The Greens Canyon gas field in Sweetwater County, Wyoming covers 6,000 acres, of which Kestrel has 3,500 acres under lease. Kestrel has an additional 9,300 acres in adjoining land that may be productive as the field is developed as various target formations.
