“Orchard is pleased with the excellent results from the South Belridge-7-7 well,” said executive chairman Steve Graves.
“The Diatomite section in SB-7-7 appears to be comparable to the other wells we have drilled and fracced to date.”
On October 4, Orchard announced that SB-6-7 had encountered an extensive oil and gas accumulation at 1501 metres and looked to be the project’s best well to date.
More recently, logging and drilling operations have been completed at the South Belridge-7-7 well after reaching a total depth of 1510 metres, said the company.
SB-7-7, as well as SB-7-12, will now undergo a hydraulic fracturing program, in which seven to eight frac stages will be performed in each well.
Halliburton will start the fracturing program on November 7 by injecting 1.4 million kilograms of sand over the combined intervals in the two wells.
The company has already completed a multi-stage hydraulic fracturing program on the SB-6-7 and -16-7 wells over intervals covering more than 762 metres of hydrocarbon bearing Diatomite formation in each well.
Over the next month, Orchard said it would bring the four stimulated wells into production, the data of which would be reported regularly.
“We expect new production for these completed and stimulated wells to start within a month and make a significant contribution to increasing production levels,” said Graves.
Meanwhile, the program’s fifth South Belridge well –8-7 started drilling on Tuesday morning, with a planned total depth of 1524 metres. This is the 11th well to be drilled at South Belridge.
It will be followed by one more well to finish the current program, which will target the Etchegoin formation to determine if significant potential exists in the acreage’s shallower gas formation.
Graves said the current six-well program was on schedule and within budget.
He said a drilling rig had already been contracted to start the new 10-well program in the new year. This program will focus on the continued development of the Diatomite and Olig Potter discoveries to date.
Sledge Hamar partners are Orchard (operator and 25%) and Maxim TEP (75%), which funds 100% of the first US28 million of development capital for the multi-well drilling program.
