Samson managing director Terry Barr described Greens Canyon as a low-risk development that benefited from the presence on-site of a pipeline.

“At Greens Canyon, we’ve got the ability for any discoveries to go straight into the bottom line, so that’s why it’s a priority target for us,” Barr said.

Greens Canyon-2 was drilled in late 1999 to a depth of 15,740 feet and intersected gas pay intervals in both the Frontier and Muddy reservoirs, according to Samson.

The Muddy intersection was particularly encouraging with a six-foot drill break at 15,300 feet, drilled at less than a minute per foot, which returned a gas show that exceeded 10,000 units.

The well was completed and the deeper Muddy reservoir was perforated and hydraulically fractured.

During the flowback of this frac an obstruction was created in the casing, 130 feet above the perforated zone. This obstruction is thought to be due to either the collapse of the casing or other form of deformation and has inhibited the ability to clean out the 130 feet of proppant that had accumulated inside the casing after hydraulic fracturing operations had ceased, according to Barr.

“This fill has restricted the gas flow rate from the well,” he said.

“The workover is being undertaken with the objective of cleaning out the well bore across the perforated interval so that this zone’s flow capacity can be evaluated properly.”

If a reasonable flow capacity can be established, Greens Canyon-2 will be produced into the existing production system.

If the flow rate was not considered adequate or if repairing the casing problem proved too difficult, the well would be plugged back and set up for other options, according to Samson. These options included possible sidetracking using a coiled tubing drilling unit that was expected to come on contract in early June, or hydraulically stimulating the Frontier zone in the existing well bore.

A recent reserve estimate calculated the Greens Canyon Frontier/Muddy reservoirs to have 57.5 BCF of gas in the 3P (proved, probable and possible) category with an estimated net present value of US$74 million.

“Given this reserve assessment and the associated value, the work over of the Greens Canyon-2 well is an important first step in bringing this reserve base into production,” Barr said.